In These Hallowed Walls
by Pyro Bear
Summary: AU Oz is a Daddy. Lindsey is a big brother. Angel wears nail polish. Three children need love and protection. And there just happens to be a prophesy that covers it all. Buffy crossover.
1. Don't Bite

            Disclaimer: I own the stuff you don't recognize, if you think I own anything else, you're nuts. But JP, Austin, Kieran, and Esther is mine. Ask if you want to barrow.  
  


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            Daniel Osbourne, otherwise known as Oz, gripped the little boy's hand, making sure he didn't go too fast, lest the little boy fall behind. The LA streets were rough, and he didn't want to lose the little boy. His eyes flicked downwards, just to make sure that the he was still there, the child was precious.   
  
            Idly he looked back on his life, and how had he gotten this far. Wasn't it only two years ago that he was a college student that was too busy with his girlfriend to even think about school work, and one couldn't forget about fighting the evils of the night. How had he come to looking after a little boy? It was a question he really didn't have an answer for.  
  
            A tug on his hand made him look down again once more. "Yes?" he asked, blinking, but otherwise remaining impassive  
  
            "Tired," the little boy told him, his hands up in a silent demand. Obligingly Oz stooped and pulled the child up. The red head, now a blue head to make things fair, grinned slightly as the little boy yawned and sighed before putting his head at the crook of Oz's neck.  
  
            "You'll be too big to carry soon," Oz said softly, leaning his cheek against the little boy's head affectionately.  
  
            "Will not," came the determined reply, just as soft  
  
            Oz smirked slightly, but stayed silent. Still walking down the street, he hoped that he could find the help he was looking for. Looking down again at the little boy that lay in his arms, he nodded. Yeah, they would need it bad.  
  
  
            Angel was sitting at the front desk, drawing idly; he was bored. Being stuck with a broken foot was not fun. Even with his vampire healing, he could be out of the loop for a couple of days. Desperately he hoped it would not come to that. A couple of hours of this were bad enough.  
  
            Throwing down his pencil, he glared at the doodle. "Stupid Oraghe demon, should have killed it gotten out of the way when I had the chance, but no, I had to let it land on my foot," Angel grumbled to himself. He had gone over the scene from the night before over and over again, telling himself exactly what went wrong and what he should have done instead.  
  
            "Are you brooding again?" asked the amused voice of Fred.  
  
            Looking up, Angel saw the petite Texan girl holding a cup of steaming cup of marshmallows, which she put in front of him. "Maybe," he told her, at least allowing him to look a bit sheepish before taking a sip of the warm beverage.  
  
            "I hope not, Cordy told me not to let you brood," Fred told him, smiling warmly. Joking came easily with her boss, as she knew how he hated being cooped up without fighting. It made him feel useless.  
  
            Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. Looking up, Angel saw someone who he hadn't seen in a good three or four years. "Oz?" he questioned tentively. The shorter man looked up and nodded giving him a ghost of a smile. Walking over, Oz shifted his burden slightly. Angel was surprised to see that it was a young child, which confused him even more. What was the wandering werewolf doing with a child, Oz had never seemed the type that would be drawn to little kids.   
  
            "We there yet?" a small voice asked. Oz nodded and whispered something in the child's ear. The child looked up and stared at Angel. "You save and save, never helps," the little boy said before putting his head back on Oz's shoulder and popping a thumb into his mouth. Gently, Oz reached up gently, and pulled the digit out of the boy's mouth. It promptly went back in. Once again Oz reached up and pulled it away, and once again the little boy put in his mouth. This went back and forth for a couple minutes before Oz's eyes darkened a bit. "JP," he said softly and calmly. "Stop it, it'll ruin your teeth."  
  
            "No it won't," the little boy, JP, said just as soft, yet the other two could hear him perfectly well.  
  
            "Yes it will," Oz told him.  
  
            "No it won't."  
  
            "Yes it will."  
  
            "No it won't."  
  
            "Yes it will."  
  
            "No it won't."  
  
            "Yes it will."  
  
            "No it won't."  
  
            "Yes it will."  
  
            "No it won't."  
  
            Instead of answering the boy, Oz initiated a staring contest. They were silent for the next few moments, daring the other to look away.  
  
            "No it wooonnnnnttt!" JP finished the argument by drawing the last word out longer than anyone thought was possible.   
  
            By that time, people had come out of the office to see what the commotion was. Soon everyone, including Lorne, Wesley, Fred, Angel and eventually Cordelia, was standing in the lobby, watching the usually laconic Oz, who never said more than a few words at a time, squabble with a young child. The argument seemed comfortable as an old sweatshirt as well as well defined, as if this particular argument was always taking place between the two.  
  
            "Oz, you do realize you're fighting with a four year old?" Cordelia asked.  
  
            "Five," both JP and Oz answered at the same time.  
  
            Cordelia rolled her eyes in good humor, but a smile was fixated on her face, "Fine then. Oz, do you realize your fighting with a five year old?"   
  
                It was Oz's turn to roll his eyes, which was a strange site to see. This was Oz, the strangely silent one with no facial expressions, but here he was, interacting with the small child on a very familiar level. It confused everyone who knew him "You would too if it was between you and him," he said simply, and left it at that.  
  
                JP blinked as Oz said this, his eyes trained on Cordelia. "You see things others don't," he told the group.  
  
               Oz's mouth moved slightly, "Kids say the strangest things, don't they?" he asked.  
  
               The other's only nodded in agreement, not really sure how to respond to the obvious comment. The moment of silence was broken when the door opened and the missing party of four walked in.  
  
            "Honey, we're home!" a dark haired girl said, a crossbow resting on her shoulder. She grinned in Connor's direction; he just rolled his eyes in annoyance and muttered something about television and how the TVLand channel should be abolished. With everyone's attention focused on the group, many asking how the patrol went, no one noticed the little boy that was glaring at all of them, chewing on his bottom lip.  
  
            As quick as a flash, JP was out of Oz's arms and was charging at the group. "Killers!" he screamed, hysterical.  
  
            No one, so surprised at the boy's movements, made a move, save for Connor, who crouched, and when the boy was close enough, tackled him. JP fought against the stronger male, but Connor held firm, determined not to let the strange little boy go.  
  
            The dark haired girl glared at Connor, "Let him go, he's just a little boy," she demanded, Connor ignored her.  
  
            JP's continued struggles got him no where, so he did the only thing he could think of, he made a move to bite. Fortunately for everyone, Oz saw the usual precursors to biting and was able to rush over and grab his chin, causing two things. One, JP was unable to open his mouth and two; it caused him to look directly into Oz's eyes.  
  
            "No biting," the older of the two said, before taking the five-year-old from Connor and placing him in a chair on the opposite side of the room. Walking back to the group, he shrugged slightly. "Sorry," he said simply.  
  
            "Is there something we should know? You know, the whole killers thing will be a real turn off when he grows up," Cordelia asked.  
  
            Everyone's eyes darted to the little boy who sat on the other side of the room, currently swinging his legs back and forth, and looking at the wall with some kind of interest. They then turned to Oz, who shrugged his shoulders slightly.  
  
            "We, JP and I, need help. Something is happening, don't know what," he told them.   
  
            "How big?" Fred asked, wondering if they had any information on the new threat.  
  
            Oz shrugged once more, "Not to sure. People are looking for JP, for reasons I don't want to know. Things…happened when he was younger."  
  
            "What kind of things?" Connor asked, looking at the shorter man and then at the child. They looked similar, and idly he wondered what kind of relation they had to one another.  
  
            "Bad things. Heard of the Initiative? Think of that, when you're four, alone, and people you trusted let it happen," Oz's eyes grew dark when he started talking about what happened to the young boy. "He was exposed to things that shouldn't been seen by anyone. And those things happened to demons. Most likely he smelled the demon blood on you all." Oz gestured towards Connor, Gunn, a dark haired girl, and the other guy.  
  
            "Hi, I'm Kieran McDonald," the girl said, smiling jovially.  
  
            "Kieran?" Oz inquired, eyebrow raised.  
  
            She shrugged, "My mom was drugged up. My oldest brother got stuck with a girly name. So it's a fair trade off. But I'm the slayer in residence," the girl finished introducing herself by holding out her hand.  
  
            "Slayer?" Oz questioned. He thought he knew both the slayers.  
  
            "Okay, slayer in waiting, slayer in training, potential, whatever you want to call me, I'm it. I just wasn't called when the last one was, Faith was it?" she turned to look at the white male that Oz did not recognize; he nodded. "Faith. Since she's in jail, and Buffy's gone, I'm the one with the most training, so I'm it. And if Faith doesn't die in the next two years, I'm off the hook. But if she does die, I'm the best bet, although it could be one of the others."  
  
            "Buffy's dead?" Oz asked, color draining from his face. His thoughts turned to Willow and her safety.  
  
            Kieran shrugged, "Guess so. Never did get to meet the blonde bombshell."  
  
            "I'm Austin Jacobs. Ex-potential-watcher," the guy Kieran had looked to introduced himself.  
  
            "Daddy, can I get up now?" JP called from where he was.  
  
            "Daddy?" Angel and Cordelia said at the same time. They weren't aware of Oz's parental status.  
  
            Oz gave them an Oz grin, which consisted of a slight moving of the lips. "I knew I forgot to tell you guys something…"  
  
  
            Surrounded by books, papers, her laptop, and other necessities needed to translate, Esther Goldstein twirled a bit of her hair around her finger in a nervous habit. "What the hell?" she muttered to herself. Shifting the computer off her lap, she reached over and picked up a thick book. "The Prophetica," she read as she traced over the letters that made up the title. Quickly she flipped a well-thumbed page.  
  
            "This doesn't make any sense whatsoever," she told the sleeping tabby that sat at the end of her bed, out of the way of the mess of papers. The tabby looked up, yawned and went back to her catnap. Cracking a small smile, Esther began glancing at a translation that sat next to her.  
  
            Taking off her oval glasses, Esther rubbed her eyes. As she did so, she glanced over to her best side table was, it was late, her clock told her so. Blowing out her candle, she sighed, she would have to put her musings on tomorrow's to do list. Maybe then she could actually make sense of off of it, at least maybe then it make even a bit more sense when she was rested. With that last thought, she started cleaning up her papers before clicking out the light and crawling into bed, soon dropping off into sleep.  
  


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             Look, it's 2,000 words! Bwhaha, I love this. So what do you all think, Make mee feel loved, and review, please? I'll get Comdey of Errors out sooner or later, promise, you just need to review, so I can feel loved!  
  
            Okay, before you all freak on me….here is the time line so far. Since this is a Buffy/Angel crossover, I included both seasons.   
    
            Season 5/Season 2: Connor born and was taken away to another plane by Doyle because the powers told him to. Aka, Doyle was made into an Angel after he sacrificed himself. He kept Connor for a couple months, which seemed like15 years. So there's no real hate between Angel and Connor. Connor just doesn't respect our lovely souled vampire. JP was in the Initiatvie (it was under a different name), he was four at the time. Buffy died.   
    
        Season 6/Season 3: Kieran and Austin come to LA to help out. JP and Oz were traveling around the West Coast and eventually to LA, where this takes place.   



	2. Facillitation

Disclaimer: I own the stuff you don't recognize, if you think I own anything else, you're nuts. But JP, Austin, Kieran, and Esther is mine. Ask if you want to barrow.  
  


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"Daddy? Angel inquired again as he watched the werewolf pick up the child and walk over towards the group.  
  
Oz looked up, and stared him in the eye. "Young people make dumb mistakes. I'm just happy it turned out better than expected." JP yawned and stuck his thumb into his mouth; Oz didn't even bother to remove it.  
  
"But where was he?" Cordelia asked. "I never saw you carry around baby bottles or a diaper bag…"she looked at him, her eyebrow raised in question. Everyone decided it was best if the three were alone so they could talk about what had happened in the past couple of years.  
  
Leaning his head against the child's, Oz smiled softly. "I left him with my aunt and uncle, but it did not work out. Tried to rid themselves of his abnormality. Took a bit more than a court order to get him back." Kissing the JP's temple, he put the child down for a moment. "We've gotta go. The hotel's a couple blocks away."  
  
Cordelia shook her head. "You're not going anywhere. We've got room to spare, and where do you get off being the Lone Ranger with your son being the ankle biter Tonto. No, I won't have it."  
  
Oz shook his own head. "I'll be back tomorrow," he promised. "But I've already paid for the night. I'll take you up on the offer later though." Lifting the child up with a practiced movement, he walked out the door.  
  
Cordelia and Angel watched the retreating figure before he made his exit. "He loved the kid, doesn't he?" Cordelia asked, leaning her head against his shoulder.  
  
Angel shrugged, "That love seems unconditional."  
  
She looked up at him, "How do you know?" she asked, eyebrow raised.   
  
"That's how it is with Connor," Angel told her, "It's just that…with your child, you can't help it." Smiling slightly, he leaned down and kissed her lightly on the forehead..  
  
"You're not kissing in the middle of the stairwell, are you? There are people who want to utilize them," Connor implored. He stood at the top of the stairs; Kieran was next to him, trying to hide a smile.  
  
"Shut-up!" Kieran said, hitting him in the chest, her smile was unabashed. "That moment was really sweet, and where did you learn the word utilize, you malnourished albino prairie dog?" she cocked her head to the side in question, for added effect, she started tapping her food impatiently, like she was expecting an answer.  
  
Connor opened and closed his mouth; no sound was coming out. Kieran smirked in victory and sauntered past the very amused Cordelia and Angel and into the kitchen. Finally Connor ceased his impeccable impersonation of a goldfish and turned to go upstairs and escape the humiliation and into his bedroom. Or what he referred to his bedroom, people really weren't sure after the door opened.  
  
"See what I mean? He's a kid only a parent could love," Angel told the woman.  
  
"I heard that!" Connor yelled down, just now getting his voice back.  
  
"You were meant to," Angel called back, a smirk on his face. When Cordelia glared at him, the smirk was reduced to only a shadow, and he shrugged. "No where did it say I have to be nice all the time."  
  
Cordelia rolled her eyes, as she flipped her dark hair over her shoulder. "Well you should get off to bed," she said bossily, "Your foot is still broken," and with that said, the pair walked up the stairs together, arm in arm.  
  
  
"Good morning, Uncle Maxwell," Esther smiled as she walked into the old man's room. Maxwell Goldstein lay in his bed, watching CNN intently, eyes following as the stocks crawled by at the bottom of the screen. The large bed made him look even more frail than he was.  
  
Putting the tray that she was carrying down, Esther removed half of the contents and placed it on the table. Picking it up again, she placed it in front of her great uncle. "Enjoy," she chirped merrily as she walked back to her own breakfast. After the usual prayers were said, Esther waited until he started eating before beginning herself.  
  
"It's not cooked right," the old man said after a bit.  
  
Another smile crossed Esther's face, "But I prepared them just fifteen minutes ago. Stop kvetching," she told him, taking a bite out of her buttered and jammed toast.  
  
They ate in silence and Esther wondered how she should bring up her findings. Granted, they weren't really findings, just and alternate translation of a passage. It was nothing really, just an idle pass time when she didn't want to work on her thesis.  
  
Finally she got to the heart of the matter, "What do you think of the prophet Adinah?" Esther tentatively, hoping the question just seemed off handed. The prophet she spoke of was from the second century, Common Era. Much like Joan of Ark, she too had visions that consisted of bright lights, which were widely believed to be other prophets Elijah, Deborah, and Daniel.  
  
"Bit strange, no sense, all prophesy," her great uncle told her before lifting another forkful of eggs to his mouth staring blankly at the television.  
  
Esther sighed, that was generally the thought when it came to Adinah, and the whole Prophetica in general. It could have been worse, much worse. Maybe the answers to her questions could be found elsewhere. She's see if there were any places in the area that knew about this kind of thing.  
  
They finished their breakfast in silence.  
  
  
"Where are we going?" JP asked as he watched Oz pack their bags. This had happened before, but their stay had been so short, and he had liked it here.  
  
Oz looked at his son, a tee shirt in his hand, "Remember when we went to see Daddy's friends last night? Well they offered us a placed to stay," he sat down and leaned closed, their nose almost touching, as JP was standing on the bed. "I bet if you ask nicely, Angel will show you his grr face."  
  
"Grr!" JP shouted happily, bouncing slightly on the bed.  
  
Oz nodded, "Now…what to wear today?" he asked the bouncing five year old as he ran a hand through his blue hair.  
  
  
"I'm so bored," Kieran announced as she walked into the lobby, where Angel was drinking his normal morning cup of coffee, he didn't look nearly as broody as he had last night, Kieran noted. She decided that she would have to spike some of his blood with Jolt, just to see what would happen if the souled vampire was hyper. The thought made her giggle slightly.  
  
"So what do you want me to do about it?" Angel questioned, looking up at the giggling girl. He wondered what she was laughing at, but then decided that he really didn't want to know. His wondering then lead him to the sudden appearance of Oz and the even more sudden appearance of a son.  
  
"Can I paint your nails?" Kieran asked suddenly, her eyes widened with hope.  
  
"No," Angel said shortly. If people heard about this, well, he'd never hear the end of it. Especially from his son. Seriously, Connor never grew tired of mocking his father. The only thing that comforted Angel was that he never grew tired of mocking his son.  
  
"Please? Kieran begged, her eyes widened ever more, until they were the size of saucers. "I've got black…" she wheedled.  
  
His eyes flickered up, "Aren't you a bit old for that?" he asked. She sounded sixteen going on ten.  
  
She rolled her eyes, "I told you, I'm bored."  
  
Angel looked around, when he was sure that nobody was around he turned to her, "Fine, but this is to be kept on the down low."  
  
She nodded, hiding her smirk. "Right, got it. Keep that painting of the nails of the Scourge of Europe on the down low," smiling at him, she dashed off.  
  
A few minutes later they were sitting across from one another, talking. Kieran popped a bubble as she chewed her gum and studied Angel's nails. "Wow, you have really nice nails for a dead guy. No offense," she looked up.  
  
He shrugged, "None taken. But back to the subject, do you think Cordy and I…you know, can make it?"  
  
Kieran gave him a sly grin. "Yes, don't listen to Connor. He's just a malnourished albino prairie dog that only a parent could love."  
  
Angel glared at her, but the mood was ruined by the smirk that played across his face against his will. "You weren't supposed to hear that," he said, a chuckle hidden somewhere in his voice.  
  
Kieran gave him an innocent look, complete with large, innocent puppy dog eyes. "But I was just walking by," she insisted, making her eyes even larger.  
  
"If you never teach my son that, I'll pay you," Oz's voice came from the door. He once again held JP in his arms. His dark eyes studied the pair. Slowly the little boy climbed down and walked over to the teenage girl.  
  
"Sorry for yesterday," he told her, scuffing a foot into the floor. Oz stood back, proud that his son apologized all on his own.  
  
Kieran crouched down to his level and looked into his eyes. "Forgiven and forgotten. Now why don't we go wake up Connor?" she asked, a wicked grin on her face.  
  
When he saw the look on her face, JP's face broke out into a large grin of it's own. "Yay!" he yelled happily and threw his arms around her neck. The pair headed towards the stairs.  
  
"There's ice in the kitchen," Angel called out. Their direction change almost instantly, and they headed towards the kitchen. When he saw Oz's disapproving stare, he shrugged. "Hey, ask long as I don't have to do it."  
  
Oz remained passive, blinking every few seconds. "If I ever find myself woken up with ice by JP, I'm personally blaming you."  
  
Angel shrugged, "Okay. Besides, this works out perfectly fine, Kieran and JP have their fun, Connor gets woken up, and I don't get in trouble with Cordy for it."  
  
"Don't get it trouble with me for what?" Cordelia asked, hands on hips and eyebrow raised as she came to stand next to the vampire. Neither man had seen her walk over. "And why did I just see both Kieran and JP, hands full of ice, heading towards Connor's room?"  
  
"Oh, I don't know…" Angel trailed off, his eyes not meeting Cordelia's..  
  
A loud sound came from Connor's room. High pitch squealing sounds floated down along with the sounds of feet pounding did as well. There was a loud thump from above and they all looked up, wondering what that thump could have been. Angel hoped it wasn't anything expensive, they've already had to replace a few lights, a couple windows, and they still needed to fix that second hole in the wall. Oz just hoped JP wasn't creating too much havoc, he hated cleaning up.  
  
Cordelia glared at Angel, "You didn't… We just fixed the door…" she trailed off as she found Kieran rushing past her, JP handing off her back, his arms clasped around her neck for dear life. Connor was following them in hot pursuit, his hair matted to his forehead.  
  
"I didn't do it! She came up with the idea, I only facilitated," Angel held up his hands in defense.  
  
Cordelia's eyes narrowed, "How much did you facilitate?" she asked him.  
  
Angel at least tried to look guilty, "Told them where the ice was."  
  
Suddenly JP zipped back into the lobby, Kieran following as well as Connor. Grabbing onto Oz's legs he stuck is tongue out at Connor, who only scowled back in return. "I'm safe, I'm safe. I'm on base," the child taunted the teen.  
  
Oz looked at Angel and Cordelia lazily, "When did I become base?" he asked them, a glint in his eye. They shrugged, no knowing what to say, or how to react. "In that case…" Oz leaned down, his eyes widening a bit, and started to tickle JP without mercy. "I get to have part of the fun."  
  
JP's shrieks and giggles soon echoed throughout the lobby, making everyone whom stood their grin, even the corners of Oz's mouth turned up a bit.. Except for Connor, who was wet, and still cold from his early morning wake-up call.  
  
Eventually everyone was sitting around laughing and talking, and Oz had JP sitting in his lap, the little boy was tired from the tickling he had endured from his father. Wesley walked in, cordless phone in hand, "Angel, call for you."  
  


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Thanks muchly to my pal gigetgirl, aka Jen, who graciously took the position of editor, it wouldn't be as good if it wasn't for her.  
  
Reviews! Lovely! Thank you bunches and bunches.  
  
** Antonia**- The explinations of Austin, Kieran, and JP are coming up, although JP is slightly explained in this chapter.  
** CordiAnne**- Yup, Buffy's dead, but she died the way she did at the end of season 5. I'm not that mean, or that motivated to figure out another way.  
** Imzadi**- So you wanna see the guy with the 'girly name'? I'll see, he could come, he could not, depends if I want that interaction in there or not.  
  
Um, I don't think I have anything else to disclose yet...but if you are confused about something don't hesitate to send me an e-mail about this or leave a review. I'll get back to you. Thanks so much for the reviews though. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy....11!  



	3. Mercy

Disclaimer: I no own canon. If you don't recognize it, I probably own it.  
  


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A few minutes later Angel came out, a perplexed look oh his face. Everyone leaned forward slightly, waiting to know who called, but the answer did not come. JP had interrupted the mood, once again.  
  
"Can I see your grrrrrrrrrr face?" he asked in a typical little boy fashion. He was enthralled by anything that a self-respecting little girl would have found disgusting, as did some adults. His eyes were wide and innocent, and there was a hopeful smile upon his lips. Oz's heart sank, so Kieran had taught him the puppy dog look. But at least it suited him in some strange karmic way. Inwardly Oz sighed, yes, the puppy dog look did suit him.  
  
"Grr face?" Angel asked, looking towards Oz for clarification.   
  
"Vamp," Oz said simply, hugging his son gently as he placed his chin atop JP's head.  
  
Angel did as requested and JP once again burst out into giggles. "Grr, grr!" he cried happily, his hands clapping together.  
  
Cordelia raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow. "Oz, not to be mean or anything, but maybe you should get him checked out. Most five-year-olds don't find pleasure in vamping out. Creepy, crawly things, yes. Vamping…no.  
  
To her surprise, Oz remained calm. "You have to understand, he doesn't see the vamping out action bad. JP knows the difference between good and bad demon."  
  
JP looked up towards his father, "Like Mr. S, right?" he asked, hopefully.  
  
Oz grinned, "Like Mr. S," he nodded.  
  
"Who the he-," Connor stopped himself, mainly due to the icy glares that Cordelia was shooting his way. "Who the heck," he started again, without the glaring, "Is Mr. S?" he asked.  
  
Oz eyes stared into Connor's own, "Someone who kept JP safe," he told the teenage boy simply before shrugging and looking away.  
  
"Excuse me, I heard you dealt in solving mysteries," a voice said from the front doors. The voice belong to a slightly plump woman, who had a no-funny-business look about her, possibly due to the simple black skirt and white sweater set that she wore.  
  
"I'm sorry, be we deal with cases that are a bit out of the ordinary. If you need another agency, we would be glad to recommend one to you," Cordelia stood up and walked towards the main desk, ready to get another private investigation's business card.  
  
The woman's eyes flashed. "Well maybe this will be a bit out of the ordinary, even for you. Do you deal with prophecies? From ones before our time?  
  
Suddenly JP spoke up, "Prophesy, it is just the beginning."  
  
Everyone blinked for a couple moments before swinging his or her heads to look at the little boy, who was sucking on his thumb contentedly. Cordelia, the business card forgotten swung around to look at Oz direction, "Are you sure you don't want to get the kid checked out?" she asked.  
  
He simply blinked at Cordelia and then turned to the woman staring at her. He didn't like the way she was looking at his son, with a mix of awe and confusion. She didn't flinch under his intense stare, instead she took a step closer to the pair that sat on the floor and crouched.   
  
Reaching out tentatively to JP, the woman smiled at him. Touching his hair softly, her smile grew wider. "You're a special one," she commented. "I can feel it, God had his eye on you." JP beamed at the compliment while the others had their eye on the woman, there was something different about her.  
  
Sensing the general discomfort within the group, she stood up and looked at everyone from behind her oval glasses. Blinking once, then twice, she composed herself. "Wow, it looks like you've never seem a Long Island Jew before," she commented with a grin, then blinking once more, grew serious. "I am Esther Goldstein. Currently I'm trying to get my doctorate in ancient literature. Last night I was studying prophecies of a second century prophet named Adinah. By doing my own translations and so fourth, I found something rather unusual," she looked from person to person, "I heard you could help me. So here I am."  
  
Wesley gave her a critical look, "Aren't you a bit young to be getting your doctorate?" he asked, his voice clipped. He took a step towards her.  
  
Esther didn't even blink or back away, in fact, she took a step closer. "I was an intelligent child," she offered, "Prep school, AP classes, and summer courses took some of the time off my hands."  
  
Wesley simply nodded and stepped back allowing Esther to walk away from the doors and into the midst of the people. Fred made the first moved.  
  
"So what do you need help with?" the petite Texan girl asked.  
  
"You're pretty," JP announced to the world.  
  
Esther turned and smiled down at the endearing boy, "Thank you," she told him sincerely before turning back to Wesley and Fred, explaining what this mystery of her was.  
  
  
Cloudy gray eyes surveyed the ramshackle building in front of her. "Willy's Bar," she read the neon sign. The s in the sign was flickering in and out, she'd try to remember to tell the owner, if he gave her the information she was looking for.  
  
Steeling herself slightly against the smell, she walked into the dark and dingy bar. The smell of cigarette smoke, as well as other unidentifiable smells. Wrinkling her nose at the rank fumes she walked closer to the bar where a short man stood, washing the counter top.  
  
"Hey, we don't sell to minors," he told her, once she made her presence known.  
  
She smiled innocently, but her eyes made it look nasty. "Good, I wasn't looking to buy anything. I was looking for information." Leaning with her elbows on the countertops she looked at the man, presumably Willy. "You wanna give to me?" she asked.  
  
The man looked around and saw that the place was half filled with demons, and giving out information, to a human no less, would not be good for his reputation. "I'm sorry, I don't think I have anything to tell," he told her, and went back to cleaning the bar top.  
  
Her hand was wrapped around his neck in a blink of an eye, her gray eyes cold and uncaring. "I didn't tell you what I wanted though," her voice was light, "so who knows, you may know something after all." Tossing her head, her plum colored ponytail waved. "What do you know about werewolves being around this town?" she asked, letting go of him.  
  
Rubbing his neck, the man looked at the girl, she didn't look older than 15. Idly he wondered if he had another slayer on their hands. "There was one in residence a few years back. Two came around again about two years ago."  
  
Her eyes flashed with what looked like hope. "Did you know if one was a kid, about five now," she asked him, the excitement in her eyes and voice betrayed the bored mask she wore.  
  
"Sorry," the man said, finally getting back to his menial task.  
  
"Damn," she muttered. Turning she started to walk out the doors. "Hey, the s in your sign is going out," she called.  
  
The man looked up, but the girl was gone. "Strange," he muttered and went back to cleaning the bar top. It was going to be a long night.  
  
He didn't see someone that was sitting in the corner get up and follow the girl out.  
  
  
By the time late afternoon rolled around everyone had settled in for a comfortable day. Wesley, Fred, and Esther had been sitting in the office. Had being the operative word.   
  
"You…you…bastard, for lack of a better word," Esther shouted, her dark hair coming out of the plait that it had been in the morning.  
  
"Excuse me?" Wesley looked down at her, taking off his glasses in the process.  
  
"You dare to tell me that I am entirely wrong?" Esther raged.  
  
Wesley shook his head, "I did not say that at all," he told her.   
  
Her hands were on her hips, "Than what did you say?" she asked him, her eyes narrowed, and she waited.  
  
"I only suggested that your syntax was wrong," Wesley told her, slipping his glassed back on.  
  
Her glare didn't cease, "You're doubting my education from Bryn Mawr and UCLA?" she demanded.  
  
Their heated discussion was interrupted with a shriek from Kieran. Looking at one another, they darted into the other room, where they found Kieran looking at a standing JP, whose eyes had rolled back, and he looked so unsteady that it looked like he was about to fall down.  
  
"We were just playing, and he went like this," Kieran mumbled, clearly unnerved by the child's actions.  
  
"Bad people, bad, bad people. Not good like Mr. S. Wanna hurt the fluffy people and bring the rough home," JP reported. "They're scared, oh so scared. You have to help them," tears were trailing down his cheeks by now.  
  
"Angel, vision!" Cordelia cried. At that moment JP's eyes closed, although fat tears were still rolling down his cheeks, making wet marks on the collar of his tee shirt. He wobbled and Kieran made the move to catch him.  
  
She glared at the other two, who stood there, extremely confused at what just had happened. "Will one of you two get his father?" he growled, brushing a piece of hair off the boy's forehead.  
  
Wesley nodded quickly and rushed out of the room as Esther walked closer to the pair and crouched. Smiling softly. "He's special, so special sometimes, it's heartbreaking."  
  
Kieran looked up, "How do you know this?" she asked, confused, still brushing at that errant lock of hair.  
  
Another sad smile, "I guess you could say I was graced with a gift from god. I guess you could also call me an empathetic, someone who senses other's feelings. Or their specialness, I really don't know. But he's one of the special ones."  
  
JP's eyes blinked open at that moment and he looked up at the two women above him. "Thank you," he said simply before catching sight of his father and started reaching out for him. Silently Oz picked up the child and let him cry into his shoulder.  
  
  
Spike darted out of Willy's and into the refreshing night air of Sunnydale. He sniffed slightly and made a left, ever so often sniffing, tracking the strange girl. Finally he caught up to her, she was standing in front of a toy store.  
  
"You wanted information about werewolves?" he asked, sliding up to her.  
  
She turned around, knife raised. "What do you want?" she demanded, eyes flashing in the street light. Slowly she put it down, but left it hanging by her side.  
  
Spike shrugged, "Not much, I just happen know a couple of werewolves. Now why don't you tell me why a pretty little thing like yourself is wandering the streets of a not so nice town and asking about information about them?" his blue eyes met hers and for a few minutes they were silent, locked in a battle of wills. The girl looked away first. "What's your name?" Spike started.  
  
"What's it to you?" she asked, putting away her knife, deciding that it wasn't worth it. Spike could be useful in her search.  
  
"You wanted info," he told her.  
  
The girl sighed, "Mercedes," she told him. When his eyebrow arched, she shrugged, "That's all I go by. Sometimes Mercy Benz."  
  
Spike nodded, "Now you were looking for a five year old werewolf. There aren't many of those around," he commented.  
  
She took a step back and relaxed, "Yeah, there aren't. So maybe you can help me find the little bugger. Name's Jordan, goes by JP."  
  
"Jeepers? What do you want with the little runt?" Spike asked, leaning closer to the girl.  
  
She glared, "To protect him. Where is he?" Mercedes asked, her voice dangerously low.  
  
"Family," Spike answered simply. There was something about this girl, something he didn't know about.   
  
Mercedes held her head high, "I'm the only family he's got."  
  


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I hope you all like! Well this is chapter three, and I hope you liked Mercy, I have plans for her, and for the people who are looking foward to seeing Lindsey *wink* just review this chapter and it'll be out sooner.  



	4. Family

Disclaimer: I no own. Anything you don't recognize, I do one. so if you wanna barrow ask. I'll oblige.   


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Spike critically examined the girl that stood in front of him. She was standing in the half-light of the street lamp, her body staying in the midst of the shadows. He cocked an eyebrow at her claim of being the only family the pint sized pup. "Sorry poppet, last time I checked you weren't short with multi colored and the tendency to growl," he paused, as if he was trying to decide on what to say, or rather how to say it. "So you better rethink your last statement."  
  
The girl looked as if she didn't know how to respond. Finally she chuckled. "Tendency to growl?" she raised an eyebrow. "I've heard that I can do a very good one, wanna hear?" her smile was coy, "Oh, and I'm not your poppet."  
  
Blinking at Mercedes, Spike finally chuckled. "I'll make a note of that. But you're a bit too young for me, not to mention I go after blondes now. Any how, why don't you tell me why you're looking for bite size pup?"  
  
Mercedes' eyes narrowed as she tossed her head, making her pony tail swing back and forth. "Told ya, to protect him. I'm the only family he's got left."  
  
It was Spike's turn to narrow his eyes, "I thought we went over this. I know Jeeper's family, and last time I checked you weren't part of it," the last part came out harsher than he intended though it didn't seem to effect the girl at all.  
  
Pausing to think, Mercedes sighed as if she was defeated. "Family can be people who know what they are feeling. Family doesn't mean blood. You should remember that," the girl told him before turning on her heel and walking into the shadows, leaving Spike to stand in the street light, alone.  
  
  
The drama of JP was over, for now, and Kieran escaped to her bedroom. When she entered the stars and moon sanctuary, she let out a sigh. To think, when she was little, she had only dreamed of something like this. Crawling onto pillow littered bed, she leaned her head down on the softest pillow and closed her eyes.  
  
Daddy was a drunkard, there was no doubt about that. Momma had a gambling problem, and whenever things were bad, they had sex, that's why there were so many kids. First there was Krista, who bailed out of there. Last the McDonald family had heard about her, she was in Orlando working in one of the theme parts. Next was John, he was never left home Instead took a job as a mechanic in town. Then there was Lindsey, possibly the only one who made it in life. Last time she checked up on him he had bailed out of his fancy lawyer job because he had a conscience. He hadn't even left her a post card. Gary was in New York, probably waiting on tables, trying to get an acting job. Lexi got pregnant and dropped out of high school and lived with John at home. Then there was Kieran herself. With her crappy family, it was a miracle she had turned out normal…or semi normal at least. But then again, Kieran was someone who had skipped out of town at age fourteen.  
  
Rolling over slightly Kieran found her stuffed bear and smiled. It had been a present from Lindsey, for her fifth birthday. The bear was one of the few things she cherished from her childhood. Her eyes flickered up and there on the shelf sat two dolls, also presents from Lindsey. Although she knew she was too old to play with dolls, Kieran longed to touch their hair, to dress them up. Sometimes, when she had been little, she had longed to be one of those kids you saw on TV. She wished to have a childhood sans empty glass bottles lying about.   
  
But no family's perfect, and with that thought she stood and walked over to her dresser drawers. Opening the top one, she rummaged around and pulled out a cell phone Years of secrecy taught her this nifty little trick. Dialing the familiar number, she hoped he would pick up.  
  
"Hello?" her brother answered the familiar twang still in his voice. Idly, Kieran wondered if he'd ever lose it.  
  
"Hello girly man," she did a horrendous accent, her brother promptly told her so in between his bouts of laughter.  
  
"What caused you to call up? Usually you do so on every Tuesday after the forth Sunday of every second month. You're early," Lindsey McDonald, ex-evil lawyer informed her.  
  
Try as she might not to, Kieran cracked a smile, but Lindsey didn't see it. So he couldn't tease hear about laughing at one of his stupid jokes. "You're lucky I call at all," she grumbled.   
  
"So why'd you call?" he asked her.  
  
"Bored," Kieran said, lounging back onto her bed. "I've been way too bored the past couple days."  
  
"Ah yes, a bored Kieran, we wouldn't want that now would we squirt?" Lindsay's tone was light with teasing.  
  
She glowered, "Don't call me that," suddenly she let out another sigh, "When are you coming to LA? You do realize I came to the city looking for you."  
  
"Which no fourteen year person should do by the way," Lindsey couldn't help but let the slight lecturing tone enter his voice. It hadn't been a very smart thing for her to do, but he knew his youngest sibling could take care of herself.  
  
"I'm safe enough," Kieran told her brother honestly. "When am I gonna see you again?" she asked, changing the subject.  
  
Lindsey was quiet for a moment, "Do you need me?" he asked finally.  
  
"It'd be nice," she said simply.  
  
"Oh, well then. I'll talk to you later, squirt," Lindsey promptly hung up.  
  
Kieran looked at the phone that lay in her hand. "Bastard," she muttered. He was always doing stuff like this. Standing, she walked over to her dresser and stashed her cell phone away, after all years of secrecy had taught her.  
  
  
Angel looked at the little boy who sat in front of him. "So what do you want to do?" he asked. He was alone with JP and unsure what to do. The souled vampire desperately wished for someone, anyone, to come and relieve him of this task. Oz wouldn't come, he knew that much.   
  
"I dunno, what do you want to do?" the small werewolf shrugged and cocked his head to the side, eyes open wide in the perfect image of everything cute and innocent.  
  
"Erm…well then…." Angel looked around, trying to figure out what little boys would like to do. He thought, when he was a little boy, he had liked to run around with the rest of his friends, generally getting dirty. But JP didn't have any friends, and he couldn't very well go out and play. For one thing he didn't care for rolling around in the dirt too much and there was the issue of the sun. "Do you like cookies?" Angel asked hopefully.  
  
JP nodded reverently. "Chocolate chip cookies are the best! Do you have any?" he asked.  
  
Angel shrugged, and offered a hand to the boy, "Why don't we go find out?"  
  
A good ten minutes were spent searching for chocolate chip cookies, but none were found. Angel turned sadly, hating to disappoint the small child. But when he opened his mouth to say something, he saw that JP had already beat him to it. "Can we make them?" the child asked.  
  
Angel was at a loss for words. Make cookies? Well, he had never made them before, but they couldn't be that hard. Now what went into cookies? "I guess so, so what goes into cookies, especially chocolate chip ones?" Angel found himself smiling, entertaining a kid couldn't be that hard after all.  
  
  
Austin Jacobs wasn't a happy camper. He had found himself waiting in line in the Los Angeles Airport because some ninny had decided that it would be beneficial for the global community for him to cause havoc. Not that Austin minded havoc in the least, in fact he quite liked it. But damnit, he had people to see and places to be, now.  
  
"Bloody Americans," Austin muttered before looking up to see if the line would be moving again. A slight cramp in his right arm made him switch his only bag to his left hand as he wondered how long it would take them to figure out this whole mess.  
  
When the line started moving again, he sighed in relief. Maybe he would get to London in time.  
  
  
Angel was wrong…baking cookies was that hard. With JP always tasting everything, the batter was half gone…and it was lumpy. Was cookie batter supposed to be lumpy? Angel didn't think so. Finally Angel spooned the half-eaten dough and popped it in the oven for ten minutes, hoping that they would turn out non-toxic. He really didn't need anyone keeling over in the hotel again.  
  
He looked down at JP, who was standing there licking his fingers, chocolate smeared all over his face.  
  
Crouching down, Angel looked the boy in the eye, "Why don't we get you cleaned up?" he asked. JP looked up at him, and gave him a very Oz like look. He almost looked bored. "Does it involve a bath?"  
  
Angel struggled to keep a smile off his face. JP looked serious. "No, no bath is involved."  
  
  
Oz wandered through the drug store trying to decide what color to dye his hair next. The current color, blue, was getting boring as well as it faded to a purplish blue, making his head look like a giant blueberry. A big sign that change was needed was that JP was starting to poke fun at him, asking if he had been eating too many blueberry muffins again. It made sense in some weird little kid way. Grinning at the thought of the puppy-like child, he strolled down the candy isle.  
  
He spotted a young girl staring longingly at a bag of gumdrops. She looked no more than three years older than JP did; something about the girl made him remember something. Almost a year ago, when he has just gotten JP back. They were in the supermarket and Oz was trying to learn every one of his son's likes and dislikes, and of course the like part included candy. When the child saw the gumdrops he pointed at them to catch Oz's attention.  
  
Thinking that JP favored them, Oz picked the candy up and handed it to the boy. He had held it and then looked up at his father, "The sky loves them," he said and then promptly dropped them, favoring the black licorice that was within his reach.  
  
"The sky loves them," Oz muttered as he picked up a bag of licorice. His eyes flickered over to the girl. Pulling his wallet out, he handed a dollar to the girl. "Enjoy them," he said before turning and walking down the hair care isle. Maybe he'd go black--after he picked up some Flinstone chewable vitamins.   
  
  
Mercedes unlocked the door of her hotel room and walked in. Glaring in disgust about the cramped room that faced her she sighed. This was pointless, what with staying in Sunnydale. She hadn't found the information she was looking for but she still stayed. Then again, and the town suited her. Tossing her sweatshirt on the bed, Mercedes walked over to her bag and picked up a few pieced of clothing.  
  
She examined them before putting them on. Grinning, she examined herself in front of the mirror that hung across from the bed. "Fashionable, but I can still cause serious damage, perfect." She grinned at her image and turned, her smiled immediately turned sour. There on the otherwise pale skin shone a black ring with the numbers 3425 inscribed on it. She glared. "You're not gonna get me," she told the tattoo, as if it was listening. "You don't rule me, or my family. We're stronger than that."  
  
With that said, she grabbed her leather jacket, shrugged it on, and walked out the door.  
  


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Authors Note: I updated since I felt bad for you all....but I want reviews. Can I have reviews please? I don't feel well, and I still updated? Please, do it for the sick Pyro. *puppy dog eyes* Oh, and Imazdi, go feed my prairie dog. You promised *grin* Review, please?  



	5. Leashes

Disclaimer: I don't own what you recognize. If you want to borrow them I have 2 requests. 1, ask please. 2, play nice. Thanks!  
  


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Kieran breezed out of her room and down the hall. She was bored, again. There was nothing to do, and that's what sucked. Stopping in the hallway, she cocked her head to the side. The shower was running. Now the question was did she want to embarrass Connor and temporarily lose her eyesight, or be bored?  
  
Hell she wanted to embarrass Connor and temporarily lose her eyesight. It definitely beat being bored any day. Tip toeing to the door, she stopped and listened again. Was he singing in there? Blinking, she strained her hearing. Yup, that was singing. "She's so lucky, she's a star. But she cry, cry, cries from a lonely heart," Connor sung out.  
  
Kieran winced. How the hell did he know Britney Spears, and shouldn't it be illegal for him to sing or something? His voice was terrible, even worse than his father's was. Bracing herself, she opened Connor's door, only to find him walking out of the shower. "Hey!" he shouted indignantly, letting go of the towel as he did so.  
  
"My virgin eyes!" Kieran said, covering her eyes and backing out of the room, leaving Connor blushing. As she slammed the door behind her, her look of horror turned into a sly grin. "I grew up with brothers, it's nothing I haven't seen before," she told herself before wandering the halls once more. She was bored again.  
  
  
Spike walked into the house he shared with three women. He had just closed the door when Dawn ran down the stairs. "Hi Spike, bye Spike," she called as she ran out the door.  
  
"Isn't it supper time?" he called out.  
  
"Friday!" Dawn called out before turning the corner.  
  
Spike shrugged and walked into the kitchen, only to find Tara, the one who was skilled in the art of using the oven. But even then she wasn't some kind of gourmet chef. She was pulling something out of the kitchen appliance. "Food?" he questioned, happy to have come in at the right moment.  
  
Tara nodded, "Casserole, I felt like cooking today. This popped out."  
  
Spike smiled, "So we won't be getting a visit from Vince today?" he asked, a smirk played across his lips. Vince was the delivery boy from the closest pizza place. In the past couple months they had gotten to first name basis with the boy.  
  
Tara shook her head. "Not tonight, I hope. It's a new recipe you know, so as far as I know it should be good."  
  
Spike rose an eyebrow at the last comment. "As far as you know?" he repeated slowly, as if he hadn't gotten it the first time around. "You mean you didn't try any of it before you put it in the oven?" his face paled a bit at the though. Strange things had come from the witch's hands on occasions. He just hoped that today wasn't one of them.  
  
"Nope," she smiled, her voice was light with amusement, like he had just cracked a slightly amusing joke. "I found ice cream to be much more rewarding. Now why don't you take the first bit," Tara smile widened as she spooned a bit onto the plate and pushed it towards him.  
  
"Why can't you?" Spike asked, pushing it towards her.  
  
"You wouldn't want me to take a bite and fall over," she graced him large innocent eyes, "After all, my stomach is a lot weaker than yours," she added a bit of the pout she had learned from Dawn. The teen had been making it almost a professional sport to see how many times she could get Spike to cave in a night. The record was currently fifteen.  
  
"Fine, fine," Spike grumbled as he pulled the plate closer and took a bite. He chewed, swallowed and blinked before running to the sink and shoved his mouth under the faucet.  
  
"Not too good?" Tara asked once Spike had straightened himself out.   
  
The vampire reached across and too her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "How about we call Kim's tonight?" he asked.  
  
  
Austin stepped out of Heathrow Airport and started walking down the London streets. He looked around and breathed the London air. It amazed him how much LA and London differed yet stayed the same. And he had missed it. Which was really strange. He remembered when he was just 17, wanting to get out of dreary old England and go somewhere exciting. Germany had always struck his fancy. Shaking his head, Austin once more hid all those thoughts in a dark corner of his brain as he stopped at a street vendor to by fish and chips.  
  
He popped a greasy chip into his mouth as he rounded the bend to find himself on Cherry Street. It was just as he remembered: red brick houses, manicured green lawns, and cobblestone pathways. It was an upper mid-class neighborhood; it was a watcher neighborhood. Sneering slightly, Austin walked to number four, up the path and promptly knocked on the door.  
  
A timid looking girl answered and told him, with surprising curtness, that Ms. Jacobs wasn't in and that he should come back another day. Austin ended up pulling his snooty voice up. "If you don't let me in this moment, I will make it my first task to make sure you lose your job," he snarled. When her back was turned, he shuddered. That way of speaking was just not how he talked.  
  
Soon he found himself sitting in the parlor, waiting for someone to wait on him. "Would you like any tea sir?" a motherly looking woman asked as she walked in. "Austin?" she gasped looking at the shaggy young man.  
  
He looked up and gave the woman a smile, "Hello Mrs. Weatherby, how have you been?" he stood as she enveloped in a hug.  
  
"I don't know if I should hug you again or box your ears," the woman said, hands on hips as she looked at him.  
  
He grinned boyishly, "I would like another hug if you don't mind."  
  
  
Mercedes sat in the club, shadows hiding her from the casual observer. The dark suited her. Sunnydale suited her. Sipping her rum and coke, the girl grinned. Alcohol was easy to get, when you knew how to get it. She seduced the rights guys and she'd get whatever she wanted. She'd have to keep the Warren guy in mind. The way he looked at her reminded Mercedes of a puppy dog. Laughing slightly, she swished her drink gently in the glass.   
  
As she watched the people around her, she unconsciously tipped her chair back against the wall. Most of the people that were here were teenagers or in their twenties. This dump must have been the only hangout in this town, or the only place alcohol was served. It was a toss up. But then again, there was Willy's. But none of the residents, of the human variety anyway, seemed to know that the bar even existed.  
  
Mercedes eyes flicked across the vast amount of people, eventually landing on a dark haired girl who was looking off into the distance, glaring at something unseen. Thumping back down to the ground, Mercedes stood and started walking down to the girl. Something drew her. "Want a drink?" Mercedes casually offered, plopping down on the seat next to her.  
  
The girl looked at her, and smiled softly, as if she was afraid of hurting Mercedes' feelings. "I'm sorry, I really don't swing that way," Dawn admitted.  
  
"Didn't mean it like that. It looks like your cursing someone because their voice is telling you not to do something, which otherwise would be fun," Mercedes flagged down a waiter and ordered two rum and cokes. She was able to get them with some carefully used eye lash bats and the ever favorite leaning in.  
  
Dawn watched, fascinated. "It sound's like you know how it is? Don't you hate it?" Dawn said amicably.  
  
Mercedes shrugged and took a sip of her new drink. "Who knows, never experienced it. Well, parentally anyhow."  
  
Dawn nodded and took a hesitant sip of her drink before setting it down, "I had one of those too," she offered.  
  
"Never had parents, didn't need them," Mercedes drowned her drink and than looked at Dawn's barely touched one, "You gonna finish that?" she asked. When Dawn shook her head, Mercedes drowned that one as well. "I never needed them. Now why don't you and I show them what we can do? And I know you don't swing that way."  
  
Dawn snorted slightly in amusement, and followed the other girl down onto the dance floor. Dawn eventually lost her nervousness and danced to her hearts content. She was actually enjoying herself, surprisingly. As they walked back to the bar area Dawn looked at Mercedes. Her faced was flushed and she was wearing a sly smile.   
  
"Would you like something to eat? A friend of mine was making something as I was leaving, and if that didn't turn out too good, I bet they ordered in," she looked at her, with a questioning look on her face.  
  
Mercedes pretended to mull over this statement before looking up, "I thought you didn't swing that way?" she asked.  
  
Dawn's eyes bulged in surprised, "I don't!" the girl told her firmly.  
  
Mercedes snorted, "But that sounded like a date," she gave Dawn an appraising look, "Is it?"  
  
Dawn shook her head, "No, yes, sorta. A date between friends?" she shrugged.  
  
Mercedes mimicked her actions, "Lead the way my lady."  
  
Dawn laughed, "You don't seem to be the kinky type."  
  
Mercedes smiled with amusement; "There is a lot of stuff you don't know about me. Care to find out?" she raised an eyebrow suggestively. Taking Dawn's hand she squeezed. "Lead the way," she said again, this time whispering.  
  
  
Oz sat in the office that sat behind the front desk. He had stolen away as Wesley and Esther had taken a break. Fred had gone off about thirty minutes before, intent on spending some quality time with her boyfriend, Gunn. He was going to need a job, he realized. Grabbing the discarded newspaper from the day before, Oz flipped open to the classifieds. It was never too early to start.  
  
He was halfway down the page when Connor walked in. Oz looked up, gave a slight nod, and went back to his search.  
  
"How long have you known my father?" Connor asked.  
  
Oz looked up, "Long time," he said, his eyes flicking back to the paper.  
  
"How long?" Connor pressed, wanting to find out as much information as he could about his father from his times before LA. Which meant he had to find out about his father's years in Sunnydale, California.  
  
"Year or two," Oz answered. "Maybe it was just a year, he was evil for one of them."  
  
"He was evil?" Connor mused about this fact. So his father had been evil recently…he'd pull that card sometime soon.  
  
"Yeah," Oz said shortly before looking up. "Don't have sex."  
  
Connor considered this, "Don't have sex," he muttered. "Wait a second…who are to say have sex, didn't you spawn the little demon out there?" Connor demanded, sitting down across from Oz, he boots on the table.  
  
The werewolf looked up. "He's not a demon, he's a werewolf. Although we like to say he suffers from lythocantropy."  
  
"He's still annoying. Can't you keep him on a leash or something?" Connor asked.  
  
"Already tried that. Had to replace 5 of them before I got the message. Now I just use it in large crowds," Oz looked up again. "Please don't hesitate to ask if you need to borrow it."  
  
  
Lorne was walking down the stairs when he spotted the pint sized puppy boy sitting in the lobby, alone. "Well hello Muffin, what are you doing down here all alone?" he asked. He didn't think it was right that they just left a five-year-old to his own devices.  
  
"Waiting, and thinking," JP answered simply before staring back off into space.  
  
"Thinking?" Lorne said to himself before crouching down to JP's level. "What are you thinking about?" the green skinned demon asked.  
  
"Stuff," JP shrugged. "Do you ever get in a fight with Angel when he breaks your stuff?" the child asked suddenly, effectively changing the subject.  
  
"Breaks my stuff Muffin?" Lorne sat back on his heels and thought. Was the slightly strange child talking about the double destruction of Caritas, done by the Fang Gang both times? "No, I don't get mad at him. I'm unhappy. We don't get in a fight; Angel's my friend. You use words instead of fists." Lorne smiled at the child. Words worked better than fists with Angel, mainly because it would just not work.  
  
JP looked thoughtful for a moment. "Do you do anything cool?" he asked finally, changing the subject once more.  
  
"I sing," Lorne said, suddenly feeling very inferior to Angel.   
  
"You're all sparkly," JP told Lorne and went back to thinking, ignoring him totally.  
  


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I love my reviews! Bwhaha, but I know there are lurkers, and it's people like you that make people like me sad. I bet a bunch of you are going "What, you have a bunch of reviews already, why do you crave more?" It's simple really, I could be doing a bunch of other things, like homework for instance, instead of writing. But since I love your response, I can't help but think that some people read, they just don't respond. Now, I'm not asking for a lengthy resonse note, hell a simple "it's really good, continue!" would be fine. But I really love the ones that ask me questions. Hehe, you don't even have to review every chapter, just please, think about it? For me? Cause the only option is that I stop writing. And I will too, my grades would be better of it I'm sure.  
  



	6. Family Love

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing.  
  


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In a dark building in the middle of the meatpacking district of LA, there was a man. He was quite ordinary. Average looks, average height. He just looked like any other man you may see on the street. As he entered a warehouse turned apartment complex, he grinned. Sometimes manipulating people was the most fun he could have, on conjunction with creating havoc of course.  
  
  
Esther chewed on her thumbnail, wondering why she had caught herself up in such a mess. She had just had to get herself mixed up in this. Apparently the manuscript known as the Prophetica was not a collection of writings from different prophets as had been previously thought, but one long winding tale that seemed to talk about betrayal, miracles, and of course the ending or saving of the world. It was funny how Wesley wasn't too worried about the last one.   
  
LA's summer sun warmed her face and she sighed. Sometimes she wondered why she had even started this project. There were lots of things she could have been doing, like writing her thesis, but she didn't want to think about that. Her phone vibrated. Sighing, she pulled it out.  
  
"Hello?" she said her voice weary. The caller was her younger sister. They talked for a bit before Esther had to go. Other duties were calling. She had to get back home to her Great Uncle, after all, his nurse only worked from nine to four. Sometimes, she wondered why she did it, why she cared. Then it all made sense to her, family was family. You didn't mess family up.  
  
And yet, she wanted to, so badly. Or maybe not. She loved what she did, she loved mysteries and puzzles and everything that could be included in her kind of work. But she didn't love the spotlight it put her in with her family. In the next couple of years she'd be the next housewife. She would have 3.2 kids and a husband who was a doctor or a lawyer or a rabbi. Her parents weren't too picky at the moment.  
  
Standing, Esther went to bid goodbye until the next day. She had to get home and take of the family she had now.  
  
  
Cordelia walked into Angel's room without knocking. Angel didn't even bother trying to stop her. He knew she'd just do it again the next day. She smiled at the vampire and sat next to him on the bed.  
  
"I heard you made cookies with JP," Cordelia stated.  
  
Angel looked up, "We needed something to do," he told the ex-cheerleader.  
  
Cordelia observed him for a moment. She wondered how he could be so nonchalant about baking cookies with a five-year-old. Most of the guys she had dated would have never done such a thing, and if they had, they would never have admitted it to her.  
  
"So you're admitting that you made cookies with JP?" Cordelia verified. Angel nodded. "That's so cute!" Cordelia squealed.  
  
Angel looked up from his book, "If you say so. We needed something to do," he looked down again.  
  
Cordelia nodded as she heard the sound of JP running by, a larger person after him. "Do you ever wonder what it would be like if Connor had stayed here?" she asked, leaning her head on Angel's shoulder. She sighed wistfully.  
  
Angel put his book on his lap as he wrapped an arm around the woman. "All the time," he admitted. "But Doyle, he did a good job, Connor isn't permanently scarred for life. Or I hope not."  
  
Cordelia allowed herself to smile slightly; "But sometimes I still wish…" she trailed off. Cordelia did not know how to put how she felt into words.  
  
Angel kissed her forehead, "I know, I know," he told her. And they stayed like that.  
  
  
Dawn led Mercedes up the path of 1630 Revello Drive. Making a motion for the other girl to stay quiet, Dawn opened the door and allowed Mercedes in.  
  
"That you 'Bit?" Spike called from the living room.  
  
"Yup," Dawns said, pushing the other girl into the kitchen and out of the clear view of the living room.  
  
"The Watcher was looking for you, you know why?" Spike asked, walking over to her.  
  
Dawn raised an eyebrow, "No," she then looked at him sweetly. "I didn't do anything wrong, honest. I'm home early for god sakes."  
  
Spike imitated her by raising an eyebrow. "Didn't do anything wrong huh? Than how come I smell alcohol on your breath." He sniffed, "Rum perhaps?"  
  
Dawn didn't say anything, but instead gave him large innocent eyes. They engaged in a staring match. Spike was unsure about what Dawn had been doing, and Dawn was trying her best to convince Spike that everything was perfectly fine. It seemed to be going in Dawn's favor when Mercedes walked in.   
  
"Who made the cookies?" Mercedes walked into the hall, a half-eaten chocolate chip cookie in her hand. She brushed a few crumbs off her mouth with her other hand.  
  
"Dawn, who is this?" Tara said as she walked over. Turning to Mercedes she smiled, "I made them."  
  
Mercedes smiled, she liked this new person. "I'm Mercedes," she nodded before turning and going back into the kitchen for more cookies.  
  
Spike blinked, "Dawn do you know who that is?" he said.  
  
Dawn nodded, "That would be Mercedes," she smiled and walked into the kitchen, following her new friend's lead.   
  
Sputtering, Spike followed, intent on telling his Lil Bit exactly who this Mercedes was. Tara trailed behind him, confused at what was going on.  
  
"Now you listen here, I want to know why you are here and who you are. I wanted to know five minutes ago. Do you hear me?" Spike folded his arms and looked at Mercedes, who was finishing off her second cookie.  
  
The girl looked at him. "Does he do this much?" she asked Dawn. She nodded, and Mercedes smiled. "Well then. News flash, I have a few things to tell you. One, You aren't my daddy. Two, I've gone through things you can't even imagine. Three, the eighties are over. Anything else?" she gave him a sweet smile, reaching for yet another cookie.  
  
"Doesn't answer my questions," Spike said after a few minutes.  
  
Tara, seeing that this would be going no where, intervened. "Look, Mercedes, Spike just wants to know who you are, that's it. We're not trying to make your life difficult."  
  
Mercedes put down her cookie, he eyes cloudy and dark. "I'm Mercedes. And that's all I know about myself. I'm looking for a kid, a werewolf, by the name of Jordan Paul Osbourne. And your buddy here knows something, he's just not telling."  
  
Tara nodded, understanding. "Okay, Spike, why don't you answer he questions. She answered yours," she compromised.  
  
Spike crossed and uncrossed his arms. "Jeepers, Jordan Paul Osbourne, is safe. Where, I don't know. But he's with family."  
  
Mercedes' eyes grew even darker than before, looking almost black against her pale skin. "You know, it would be for him to be safe with family when I'm the only type he has."  
  
Spike snorted, "You aren't his father," he smirked, thinking he had won.  
  
Mercedes looked unimpressed. "And I'm not the one who left him with bastards who were happy torturing kids for their own sick pleasure."  
  
When he heard that bit of information, Spike pale considerably and his facial expressions softened. "You're one of them," he said gently.  
  
Mercedes didn't flinch at the revelation that he had. "There were more of ups. How many, I don't know. Who they were, I don't know that either. But there was another, along with JP, and we're family."  
  
  
Connor stood in front of the door of the Oz and JP's room. What Oz had said a few days ago wouldn't leave him along. Letting out a deep breath, he knocked.  
  
"Come in," Oz called out. He was sitting on his bed with Wesley's laptop sitting in front of him. Currently he was trying to clean it up; the last virus has left it in one giant mess.  
  
"Hey," Connor stood at the door, leaning against the frame. "I was wondering if I could, you know, borrow the leash a few days ago." The teen could feel the blush rising to his cheeks, although he did not know why.  
  
Not even looking up towards the embarrassed teen, Oz pointed to the top drawer of the dresser. Connor found it on the left. It was one of those child leashed that criss-crossed the chest and the back.   
  
"Thanks," Connor said as he walked out of the room and down the hall to his own room. As he opened the door, his eyes flickered over to his desk. Upon it laid a coil of steel. Connor grinned. "Doyle always said I was good with my hands," he told himself. Shutting the door behind him, the teen got to work.  
  
  
A man in his apart whistled, that fact in itself wasn't strange. What he was doing while whistling made everything strange. He was sharpening a knife that was way too ornate to even belong as decoration for the dingy apartment.  
  
The man stood and walked over to what appeared to be a closet door. Opening it, he smiled. In the corner farthest away from the door, a little girl huddled in a ball. "Hello my sweet," the man hissed.  
  
She looked up; her crystal blue eyes shone with unshed tears. As the man came towards her, his knife ready to strike, she made a mewling sound. It was almost an attempted a pleading, but not quite. The man made quick work with his pretty little weapon. The shallow cut on the girl's stomach started to bleed. By that time, the tears that had threatened to fall were making clean streaks in the otherwise dirty face.   
  
"Excellent," the man told his captive. The wound had started scabbing over. A pool of a dark sticky substance   
  
  
Mercedes was still glaring at Spike when there was a pain in her stomach. Crying out, she hunched over, her ponytail hanging limply to the side. The pain hurt so much, so much, and she blacked out.  
  
  
In the Hyperion, JP stopped what he was doing and whimpered pitifully.  
  
Kieran looked up from her book, eyes sharp, "What's wrong?" she asked.  
  
"Hurts," JP mumbled between whimpering. He was holding his stomach tightly.  
  
Kieran stood and walked over to him, "Lemme see?" she asked, crouching. After he nodded, she pried his hands away from his midsection. They were stained in blood.  
  


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Sorry for the delay, but something big happens next chapter...so stay tuned!  



	7. Skye

Disclaimer: I no own. Ask if you want to borrow.  
  


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Oz watched his child sleep. The five-year-old was curled in a ball and in the middle of the bed. His thumb in his mouth. The older man didn't have the heart to move the child. A whimpering sigh made Oz look up from the book on computers that he was reading. "You okay?" he asked.  
  
JP lifted his head and rubbed his eyes. "Tired," he mumbled as he crawled over, leaning his head on Oz's thigh.  
  
"Sleep then," Oz told his son, rubbing the child's back.  
  
"Don't make fun of me. Can't sleep," JP told him as he rolled onto his back, tummy upwards.  
  
The sides of Oz's mouth quirked upward as he rubbed his child's stomach instead. He hummed a melody of a song. JP smiled as Oz's continued. "Goodnight, my angel, now it's time to dream, and dream how wonderful your life will be," Oz whispered once he found the child resting peacefully. Leaning over, he kissed the child's forehead. And Oz watched his child sleep.  
  
  
"Are you holding up?" Dawn asked as she walked into the living room where Mercedes was sitting.  
  
Mercedes shrugged, "It hurt, but it could have been worse," she accepted the mug of hot chocolate that Dawn held. "Thanks," she told her friend.  
  
It was Dawn's turn to shrug as she sat next to the other girl. "My mom always used to make me hot chocolate when I hurt myself or was just generally feeling blah. I thought it might cheer you up."  
  
Mercedes didn't even bother with meeting Dawn's eyes, but she did have a small smile on her face. "Look, I really don't deserve this. I'll be outta here sooner or later."  
  
Dawn tried to meet her gaze, but it didn't work. The teen finally settled on looking at her, "Where will you go?" she asked, the curiosity getting the better of her.  
  
Mercedes sighed; she looked worn down and tired. "I really don't know. Around I guess."  
  
They sat in silence for a few minutes, Dawn quietly lending support. Suddenly Mercedes tensed, holding her breath. "Oh my god," Mercedes let out her breath as a hand flew up to her mouth. "I know where he is!" she stood quickly, putting the mug of hot chocolate on the table. She headed towards the door.  
  
"Mercedes, wait!" Dawn followed the taller girl briskly.  
  
Mercedes swung around and looked into Dawn's eyes. "I have to find him," she offered as an explanation for her actions.  
  
Dawn grabbed her hand, "I know, but it can wait a night? I'll even help you. That's what friends are for. So where is this little guy?" she asked.  
  
"LA. We're going to LA," Mercedes smiled, and Dawn smiled back.  
  
  
JP wandered the upper hallways looking for something to do. Somehow he wandered into Angel's room. The boy stared at the vampire before walking around to the side of the bed. Angel didn't even bother looking up, he knew the child was there. For some reason beyond him, the child had taken a liking to the vampire with a soul.  
  
"What do you want JP?" Angel asked once his curiosity got the better of him.  
  
The little boy looked at him and blinked, suddenly looking a lot like his father. "When you find her, will you save her?" he asked.  
  
This made Angel look at the boy, "When I find whom?" he asked.  
  
"Her. When you find her, will you save her?" JP asked again.  
  
Angel was confused, but then finally decided that JP was just being a kid. He sighed and nodded; giving up at the little game the five-year-old was playing. "When I find her, I'll save her," he told the kid.  
  
JP smiled widely. "Yay!" he told the vampire. Scrambling off the bed, he went to find other things to do.  
  
  
"Dawn?" Tara knocked on the girl's door. "Time to wake up." Hearing no response, the woman walked into the teen's room. There was no Dawn. "Oh my," a hand flew up to her mouth. "Spike!" she called.  
  
"What is it?" Spike climbed the stairs two at a time, thinking something was wrong.  
  
"It's Dawn…she's gone!"  
  
  
"So you'll do it?" the man asked Angel. The vampire nodded and his eyes slid over to the little boy who sat in the corner. Over the three weeks or so, the little boy had wormed his way into the guy's heart.  
  
The client followed Angel's gaze. "He's a cute kid, yours?"  
  
Angel shook his head; "He's the son of a friend."  
  
JP looked up, sensing that the people across the room were talking about him. Standing, he walked over and looked at the client. "Are you a one 'yed one 'orned fwying uprle eater?"  
  
The client looked at Angel, "What did he just say?"  
  
Angel sighed, "Are you a one eyed one horned flying purple people eater? Someone taught him the song recently. A very dead someone."  
  
"Do you eat people?" JP asked the client another question, giving him a very pointed look.  
  
The client laughed. And ruffled the boy's hair. "I can't say that I do, though I am guilty of the occasional hamburger."   
  
The boy didn't even show the signs of a smile, instead his nose twitched slightly. Angel furrowed his brow. This wasn't like JP, generally he was good tempered and loved attention. The vampire's brow furrowed even more when he heard a slight growl emerge from the boy's lips. It was only due to his vampire like reflexes that Angel was able to catch JP before he flew upon the client.  
  
A few moments later Oz walked in, followed by Kieran and Connor. Kieran was holding a couple of bags and Connor was carrying a box. "Oz!" Angel called out. JP glared at Angel before continuing his struggled to get to the client.  
  
As soon as the boy was handed to his father, Angel quickly lead the client into the office, leaving Oz to deal with JP. Kieran and Connor settled down to watch.  
  
"Jordan," Oz stated softly, both Kieran and Connor had to strain to hear. "What was that?"  
  
JP pouted, which looked rather strange to Kieran. Connor only grinned; he hoped that the kid got what was coming to him.  
  
"Jordan?" Oz asked again.  
  
"The man was bad. He smelt wrong, and felt wrong," JP grumbled, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.  
  
Oz repressed a sighed, and whispered something in his son's ear. The only word Kieran caught was leash. She didn't know they made child leashes. Did they come in bigger sizes? Like sizes for guys? Stealing a glance towards Connor she grinned. That would be fun. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she almost didn't hear Connor say; "I'm done with it, so if you need it, just ask."  
  
Kieran openly gaped. "Connor, I had no idea! Does your father know about your sexual activities?"  
  
He glowered, "Go to hell," he told her, his voice hushed so JP wouldn't hear the bad words.  
  
She grinned merrily, "You first!" Then turning to Oz she asked without a flinch, "Could I borrow the leash? I'm sure Connor and I could have great fun. Or at least I will," she smirked and looked at Connor again. He caught her eyes and looked away quickly, gulping.  
  
  
"Fuck," Mercy muttered as she and Dawn stepped out of the LA bus depot.   
  
Dawn looked at the other girl, her backpack hanging at her side. "What's wrong?"  
  
Mercedes looked at her, and finally realized something. They had just left, which was no big thing for her, but for Dawn, she was leaving family. "It's JP. I could feel him from Sunnydale, telling me to come here. But now that I'm in LA, I can't feel him exactly. Like I felt him, here," she tapped her head and then her heart, "and here. But now there's nothing. Or everything. I don't know. It's overwhelming."  
  
Dawn laid a hand on the other girl's shoulder, "I understand, I think. Look, I have friends who live in LA, maybe they'll help us."   
  
Mercedes smiled, "Thanks," she said quietly. Dawn nodded, and they began walking down the street.  
  
"Random question," Dawn turned to Mercedes. "I know you can be underwhelmed and overwhelmed, but can you ever just be whelmed?" Mercedes shrugged.  
  
  
"Are you sure you're cool?" Oz asked as he looked at Connor. The rest were out patrolling or working on cases or doing other things, leaving only Connor home to watch JP while he went out and spent a night on the town.  
  
The teen nodded, "Everything will be fine." With one last look towards the teen, Oz kneeled down and started giving instructions to JP.  
  
"Try not to get mad, okay?" Oz asked quietly.  
  
JP shrugged, "But why'd you have to leave me with him?" he pouted slightly.   
  
The sides of Oz's mouth twitched slightly and he stood, ruffling the kid's hair. "Don't worry, you'll have fun."  
  
As soon as the door closed, Connor brought out the newly steal coil enforced leash. "Hopefully this will make sure you stay in the same place."  
  
  
Angel knocked on the door and then felt extremely stupid. Why would a demon open the door if it knew that it was about to get killed? Sighing, he decided he would have to do it the hard way, he would have to break the door down. About halfway through, he noticed something shimmering above his head. Reaching up, he found a key. Sighing, he jammed it into the lock and the door swung open.  
  
The apartment was relatively neat for a place where a demon lived. Creeping around, Angel noticed subtle things about the place. The demon had a taste for Chinese food, which was odd, because there weren't many demons that could really stomach human food, let along eat it in vast amount. The next that thing made the vampire's eyebrow raise was the vast amount of medicine. Picking a few of them up one at a time, Angel tried to wrack his brain for what they might be for. He thought one of them was for cancer, but he wasn't sure.  
  
Suddenly movement caught Angel's eye. Looking around he spotted a blue lizard? Kneeling he looked at the animal from where it was hiding under the bed. No, it wasn't a lizard, but it was unlike any other demon he had ever seen before. It was almost cat like, with it's silver can eyes and thin bone structure. But it was most definitely part of the reptile family. Reaching out, he grabbed a hind leg, careful of the tail. He laid her, because the animal was too pure to be a male, on the bed and raised the knife he had brought. But then he looked down and saw a thin cut on her belly. Placing a hand on it, he was amazed to find a child instead of the lizard like creature he had first encountered.   
  
Like the creature, she was injured. But unlike the creature, the child was in bad shape. So Angel did the only thing he could think of, he decided to bring her home.  
  
  
Mercy and Dawn stood outside the Hyperion Hotel, and Mercedes wasn't impressed. "This is it?" she asked, looking at the other girl.  
  
Dawn just shrugged, "This is a lot better than what he had before. I think that got blown up. But hey, this has five stories and a bunch of rooms. I'm sure we can stay here for the night." Just then Dawn's cell phone rang and her eyes widened. "Shit," she cursed and then sighed. "I forgot to leave them a note, didn't I?" she asked her companion. When she received an affirmative nod from Mercedes she sighed and clicked the phone off. "They're already pissed off at me," was her reason for doing so.  
  
As they walked in, they were met with a peculiar sight, there was a little boy attached to a column by what appeared to be a leash. "JP!" Mercedes cried.  
  
"Mercy!" the little boy ran towards the girl, but was held back by the leash. He ended up landing on his rump with an "oomph".  
  
"What the?" Mercedes wrinkled her brow, "Who did this?" she asked, ready to give the person a piece of her mind.  
  
"The prairie dog!" JP reported happily.  
  
"The prairie dog?" Dawn turned to Mercedes, the girl shrugged as she unclipped the little boy and bent down, waiting for the impending hug.  
  
"Hey! Who are you?" Connor walked down the stairs and saw JP hugging a strange girl.  
  
"Who are you?" Dawn asked, not liking the guy the instant she set eyes upon him.  
  
"The prairie dog!" JP called out.  
  
Mercedes glare fell upon Connor, eyes narrowed. "You're the one who did this? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't beat you to the pain?"  
  
Connor looked at her, "Because beating you to death is quite boring."  
  
Mercedes rolled her eyes, "Are normally this thick headed? I said to the pain, not to the death."  
  
Connor looked at her, "I don't think I'm quite sure I'm familiar with this new kind of torture."  
  
"I'll explain and I'll use small words so that you'll be sure to understand, you warthog faced buffoon," Mercedes grinned sadistically.   
  
"That may be the first time in my life a man has dared insult me," Connor told her, conveniently forgetting that Kieran and his father did it on a regular basis everyday.  
  
"It won't be the last," Mercedes said, "To the pain means the first thing you will lose will be your feet below the ankles. Then your hands at the wrists. Next your nose."  
  
"And then my tongue I suppose," Connor mused, bored by the conversation.  
  
"I wasn't finished. The next thing you will lose will be your left eye followed by your right," Mercedes made a slashing motion over her eyes.  
  
Connor was now impatient. "And then my ears, I understand let's get on with it!"  
  
"_Wrong_! Your ears you keep and I'll tell you why. So that every shriek of every child in seeing your hideousness will be yours to cherish. Every babe that weeps at your approach, every woman who cries out dear god what is that thing, will echo in your perfect ears. That is what to the pain means. It means I leave you in anguish, wallowing in freakish misery forever. Now, give me a good reason why I shouldn't do that?" Mercedes looked at Connor.  
  
Dawn looked at her friend; "I'll give you two good reasons. One, you've watched the Princess Bride way too many times. Another, him," she said carefully. When Mercedes looked at Dawn, she followed the girl's finger. There stood Angel, a tiny girl in his arms.  
  
JP looked up as well. "You found her!" he said happily.  
  
At the exact same moment, Mercedes whispered, "Skye."  
  


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Bwhaha, now who expected that? Save Jen, who really expected that? Well we've got more coming up! We've got Spike, strip poker, Lindsey. general sex jokes, Faith, and of course, everyone's favorite, making fun of Connor! Tee hee Wow, this chapter was close to 2,500 words. I hope you all are happy!  
  
Oh, and if this isn't up to par as my other chapters, well Jen was busy, so I did this by myself. Also, I will probably be updating about once a week, just to give my beta (Jen) a break, cause she's home and stuff. Also it let's me work on other stuff (like other stories....look below) and school work.  
  
**FerretGirl:** You are a sweetie, and don't worry about Wes. He's a big part of the series, and he even will get his own little story about him, well sorta. And your site is abosolutely fantastic. Ferrets are adorable, and I couldn't gush enough about da kitties. I have one meself.  
  
**Sukie**: Your review was the sweetest thing...you just got JP and Cale mixed up a bit, but no worries, I'd love to own Cale, but Jen won't let me have him. *sigh* You made me feel all warm and fuzzy though!  
  


* * *

  
Oh, it's that time again....no not that time you perverts... I have another story on the way. A couple things you should know A) I won't be giving this fic up, nor will this be on hiatus. B) It's the sequal to my previous fic Pulvis et Ubrumarum. C) Blame it entirely on a song by Pink entitled Lonely Girl. It gave me one huge story arc. D) There is no D....yes there is, read and review? Please?  
  



	8. Oasis

I don't own. I only play with.  
  


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Mercedes stood there in shock as the tall dark man carried the little girl she had been looking for into the room. She then took in the little girl's condition. Grabbing the nearest weapon, which was a sword, she brandished it. "What did you do to her?" she asked.  
  
Instantly JP was at her side, pulling on the arm that so easily held up the metal weapon. "He save her!" the little boy told her. "Don't be mad, be glad!" the boy said with a sickly happy voice.  
  
Angel didn't move. He didn't like the look that the teenage girl in leather was giving him. He took a sweep of the room. Connor stood there, as did JP, and there was another girl who looked familiar. "Dawn?" he asked.  
  
She smiled, "That's me. But we'll talk later, the little girl, Skye, looks like she's seen better days. Nothing a good cup of hot chocolate won't fix, or a bath. It's a toss up really."  
  
Angel nodded and quickly went upstairs. Everyone trailed him.  
  
Once the little girl, Skye, had been bathed and given new clothes, they sat in the room Angel had chosen for her. It was near his room, on the third floor. JP was in his pajamas thanks to Dawn and was now curled up next to Skye, content and dozing.  
  
  
Oz stepped into the club/lounge, Oasis, and breathed in the smoky air. It reminded him of the Bronze, back home. Sunnydale wasn't exactly home anymore. The Hellmouth had lost any semblance of appeal it had once had when he had found out that Willow dating the non-supernatural guy. The pain of finding out still hurt him, but Oz hoped that his first love was happy.  
  
Walking to the bar, he bought a beer and took a look at the person on stage. She was a pretty woman with dark hair and almond shaped eyes and by the look of her purple dress, she had all the right curves. Taking sip of his beer, Oz took a step toward the stage. By the time he had reached it, his beer was almost gone. Taking the last sip he looked up at the stage. The woman ended her song and bowed when she heard the applause. Flashing a smile, she stepped down. Oz found his mouth start to dry as he took a step toward her. It reminded him of when he was about to ask Willow out.   
  
When he looked up, he found the woman slinking towards him. She flipped her dark curly hair behind her shoulder before tucking an errant piece behind her ear. She gave him a smile. "Hello," she said, her smile growing even wider, warm, and inviting. "Hey, wanna grab something to drink or to eat? They have the best wings here," she told him matter a factly.  
  
Oz shrugged and down next to her. The woman gave him a coy smile before flagging down a waiter and ordering. When the guy was done, she turned to Oz, "My name is Chase," she introduced herself.  
  
Oz nodded, "Oz," he said simply. She smiled.  
  
  
Kieran walked into the library and breathed in deeply. The smell of books surrounded her and she could feel herself smiling. The library was open late, one of the best things about the city. She could play hooky tonight, there were others were about, so it didn't matter if she took the night off.   
  
Wandering into the John Jay wing of the library, Kieran found herself in very warm atmosphere filled with many nooks and crannies where she could hide for a few hours. Browsing the stacks, Kieran finally found a book to her liking, The Wizard of Oz, she found a place to sit.  
  
"That's one of my favorites," a voice startled Kieran into looking up. A boy stood in front of her. He looked as if he ha just stepped out of a Ralph Lauren ad. She bet he was one of those people who would pronounce it Ralph Lau-REN instead of Ralph Lauren too. He saw her studying him and flashed a smile. "I know, tragically hip. My name is Jay," he held out his hand.  
  
Kieran found herself smiling as well. "Like the library wing we're in?" she asked him.  
  
He shrugged and simply said; "You could say that." He then got a slightly mischievous glint in his eye. He leaned down, picked up her hand, and kissed it, "But I never caught your name pretty lady."  
  
Kieran blushed; no one had actually called her that before in real life. "Kieran," she told him, not looking him in the eye. Mentally she kicked herself in the butt, why was she melting into putty. He was just a guy; she had seen tons of them before. She shook her head slightly; she had no clue what was making her act this way.  
  
Jay just smiled and took a seat next to her, and they talked into the night.  
  
  
Austin scowled as he stood in front of Quentin Travers; the man who quite possibly could have been his boos. "So you're telling me that you're turning your back on an innocent little boy?" he asked. His teeth clenched and unclenched as his eyes narrowed. Granted, he didn't know the kid too well, but he had just called Wesley the night before, never mind the time difference. The former watcher had filled him in.  
  
Quentin Travers looked down upon the twenty-three year old. "That little demon is far from innocent. We don't deal with tainted blood."  
  
Austin snorted, but resisted from rolling his eyes. "That five year old in California has seen more horrific things than many of your Potentials Mr. Tavers. And he lived to tell the tale."  
  
Travers wasn't moved at all. "It is still a demon. Human 28 days of month, but he has the darkness in him. We can't risk it."  
  
Austin wasn't giving up, "Look me in the eye, and say that."  
  
"We can't risk it," Travers told him, but he looked away from the younger man.  
  
Austin spit at the man's feet. "You disgust me. I hope you rot in hell." And he walked out. He was going home.  
  
  
Esther was extremely happy, ecstatic even. She was sitting in her room, the Prophetica sitting on her right. On her left sat a Latin book and on her lap sat her laptop, at which she was typing. Finally she finished her work and sat back. Amazing, she had translated it into making sense. Quickly she grabbed the cordless phone and dialed Wesley's cell phone number.  
  
"'Ello?" the Wesley's weary voice answered.  
  
"I did it!" Esther said excitedly.  
  
"You did?" Wesley was more alert now.  
  
Esther smiled and nodded, although she knew the man could not see her, she did it anyway. "You translate into Latin and then translate that into English…"  
  
"You sound as if there is a problem," Wesley noted. She could almost see the British man sitting up now; glasses perched upon his nose jauntily.  
  
Esther sighed, "Unfortunately so. It seems as if the whole thing is one big riddle, or a scavenger hunt, or both."  
  
"Read it to me?" Wesley asked simply, he was tired.  
  
Esther juggled the phone as she scrolled up.  
_  
Find the soul of the sky  
But that is only found in a child's eye  
Of which is trained upon the earth  
Protected by family not of birth  
These three are yours to keep  
They only work as three  
For if one is gone, the power will flee  
But if the three are there  
Oh the miracles they will share  
So heed me that and heed me this  
Innocence you will surely miss  
But that was the past  
Surrounded by family and friend  
Wounds will slowly mend  
First, second, last challenge  
And it will be done_  
  
Esther sighed as she took a rest. "That was a bitch to translate by the way."  
  
Wesley cracked a small smile as he chucked, "Yes, I'm sure it was. But if you translated it, why does it rhyme?"  
  
"Erm…Um," Esther was at a loss for words. "They're words of God. Does God need a reason?" she snapped.  
  
Wesley sighed, "No, I suppose he doesn't. Now would you mind letting me go back to sleep?"  
  
She blushed, "Oh, um. Sorry for waking you. See you tomorrow," she hung hastily. As she clicked the phone off, she buried her head in her hands. What an ass she had made of herself! But there was still more to be done, only a line or two, or five. Frowning she scanned the lines she was about to translate. "Blood of the sun? Second chances? What the hell?" She sighed. It was shaping up to be a long, long night indeed.  
  
  
Angel looked at Mercedes, who had eventually put down her sword and introduced herself. "What is she?" he asked quietly as to not wake the two children in front of them. JP was dozing again; every so often he would make a whimpering sigh. It remind the vampire of something that JP's father had said. "Just like a puppy," he muttered to himself.  
  
Mercedes looked at him, but answered the man's first question. "An experiment I guess. Like we all were. They shot me up with stuff, so right now I'm a cross between a female superhero and a neck chomping demon. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, you know? But the government was just cruel to her. They killed her whole family just so they could legally own the kid so they could use her powers."  
  
"Powers," Angel questioned. "Does one of them happen to be turning into a blue lizard?" he spoke freely. Dawn had already left the room, finally deciding to answer her cell phone. Connor had wandered away as soon as he saw nothing interesting was going to happen. He had walked out while muttering something about crazy sadistic girls.  
  
"Dragon actually," Mercedes told him. She had grown to like the vampire in the short time she had known him. She knew he could help her, and right about now, she needed all the help she could get. "They did something to her, hormones I think. To make her produce more blood, it has healing properties. Unfortunately, the hormones made her adherent magical ability break out. Last time they made her angry, well let's just say a few weeks later, some guys were still picking glass outta their skin," she smirked, "Don't get mad."  
  
Angel nodded silently as he looked at the little girl he had carried in. She was small and thin for her age, but that didn't surprise him. With what he knew about her, her left had been a mass of bloody and horrid memories, only for golden pinpricks of the good memories to shine few and far between. Her blond hair, now free of grime, blood, and sweat, pooled around her head as if it were a halo. Her pale skin already had signs of color about the cheeks, and bruises and cuts were slowly healing. She would be okay soon, and they would finally get to the bottom of this.  
  
"Are you sure she's not some kind of were-lizard?" Angel asked. He had never heard of a were-lizard, and he was sure they didn't exist. But then again, he had never heard of a little girl, only ten years of age, turning into a dragon.  
  
"No," JP rolled over onto his back, his shirt riding over his tummy. He looked at the pair that sat in front of him. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes. "Oh no, my Skye is not a were-lizard. My Skye is not a dragon, she's a Draygon." He told them this with a serious tone in his voice.  
  
"Where's your father?" Angel asked, running a hand through his hair. Oz always seemed to know what JP was babbling on about.  
  
"He's having slunky fun time," JP told him, snuggling back down.  
  
Dawn walked in, her cell phone in hand. "Hey Angel," she ventured. "Do you have room for on watcher, one witch, and one rather irate vampire?"  
  


* * *

  
Okay, You like this fic? Good. Go vote at World's End. The link is on Firefly's bio page. Thanks.  
  



	9. In Loco Parentes

Disclaimer: Am I making money? I wish....I don't own any of the canon. Sorry. If I did, Spike wouldn't be blown to smithereens and Cordy would still be the bitch we all love.  
  


* * *

  
The Los Angeles library was quiet and dark, except for one wing, the John Jay wing, where two teens sat. Kieran laughed as Jay cracked a joke. Glancing at her watch, she gasped. Cursing softly, she looked up at Jay, who was giving her a worried look. "What's up?" he asked her.  
  
She smiled. "I'm a bit late, meaning I have to go." Flashing Jay another smile, Kieran stood and turned.  
  
"Wait!" Jay called after her. She turned. "It's not safe for girls to be out and about after dark." She rolled her eyes and spun around. He called after her again. Kieran stopped and looked back at him. "Here," he said, giving her a card.  
  
"You're giving me…a business card?" Kieran looked up at him.  
  
"Call me," he told her.  
  
"Okay," Kieran told him as she rushed out into the night.  
  
Jay watched her go. Wispy brown hair fell in his eyes. Brushing it out of his eyes he grinned. It was time for him to get home, but why go? His parents weren't home, and it was so much fun to see how long it took for his_ in loco parentes_ to order her minions out to find him. Grinning, Jay walked out of the stone building and down the street, all the while fingering a fake ID in his wallet. He heard there was a really nice strip club on Forth and Main.  
  
  
Chase took a sip of her beer; Oz stuck with water. "So, Oz?" She swished her beer in the glass.  
  
He nodded, "So."  
  
"Oz, that a name not many hear," she told him.  
  
Oz shrugged, "It's a nick name a friend gave me in high school."  
  
Chase looked at him. "Ah, high school. I remember that, sorta. I skipped just enough that I could graduate, but I did, just barely."  
  
Oz nodded, "High school graduations. Always fun."  
  
  
Skye felt herself slip out of her dreams and became fully aware of what was around her. She was in a bed, and it was soft. She didn't remember the last time she had been in a bed. Wait, she did. It had been when she was home. Was she back home now?  
  
Suddenly she felt something on her chest. It was heavy, warm though. The weight felt like Mickey, the calico cat her parents had. He always woke her up in the morning. Maybe she was home.  
  
Opening her eyes, she found a pair of very human eyes looking into her own. She wasn't home. "Boo!" the face yelled and she screamed.  
  
JP blinked and scrambled back. "Found you!" he smiled impishly, light brown hair falling into his eyes.  
  
Skye looked at JP. "Are you really there?" she whispered. Reaching out she touched is face. Soft fingertips lightly touched the round cheeks that were reminder of babyhood, his nose small and upturned. It was JP. He had always been able to bring a smile to anyone's face, except maybe for the people who held them.  
  
"Found you," JP repeated. His smiled widened as he cocked his head to the side, as if he was listening to something.  
  
Mercedes burst into the room, the look on her face murderous. "What happened?" She asked, before she realized that Skye was sitting up, and talking. "Skye!" she rushed over and started to look her over. Once she was done, Mercedes picked her up.  
  
"Where do you think you're going?" Angel asked, blocking Mercedes.  
  
"I have what I needed. I'm going now," Mercedes tried to go around the large vampire. He still blocked her path.  
  
"And what will you do? Where will you go?" Angel asked quietly.  
  
Mercedes didn't meet his eyes. Her arms went limp, and Skye slid to the floor and stood. "Do not mettle in the affairs of dragons, for they are quick to anger and you taste good with ketchup." She padded back to the bed and pulled the covers over her, displacing JP.  
  
He smiled, "Hot dogs are good."  
  
"Peaches?" a voice called from the lobby. Dawn paled when she heard it. Muttering a string of curses that made Skye slap her hands over JP's ears, she made her way down stairs to face the music.  
  
Mercedes glared her hands over Skye's ears. "Do you mind? There are young ears here."  
  
Dawn didn't even spare her a glance. "And I'm sure you've uttered it all before."  
  
Again, Mercedes looked away for the second time that night.  
  
  
"Sir, you know you're not supposed to be here." A young man, probably a clerk, walked up to Jay, who was getting a very nice lap dance.  
  
Jay shot a very bored look towards the nameless and faceless clerk. Once his lap dance was over and done with, and the girl had been given her twenty, Jay finally paid the guy the time of day.  
  
"Let me guess, the frigid bitch from hell sent you here?" Jay leaned back, his hands behind his head. He studied the clerk. Probably still in law school. He was surprised that he was a clerk to one of the partners.  
  
"Yes, my superior did send me here to find you," the clerk said nervously.  
  
Jay nodded slowly. "Do you have a light on you?" he asked.  
  
"Sorry sir," the clerk apologized. "I don't smoke."  
  
"Good, neither do I." Jay smiled, "Sit. What's your name?"  
  
"Scott, Keith Scott, sir," the clerk said as he sat.  
  
"So, Keith. I like you," Jay told him, leaning forward. The chair hit the floor with a light thud.  
  
"Thank you sir," Keith said, still nervous.  
  
"That's a good thing you know," Jay said as he downed the last of his Coke and Rum. He liked this place; they didn't ask questions. "It's a very good thing. Now see, I don't like your superior. She has a bit too much power, don't you think?"  
  
"If you say so sir," the clerk told him.  
  
Jay clapped his hands together. "And I do. Now Keith, could you do me a favor? Go back to your superior and tell her to fuck off."  
  
The clerk was horrified. "Sir, I couldn't. My internship would be lost. And any hope of getting a job right out school."  
  
Jay waived him off. "No it won't. Not while I'm here. And believe me, I'll be here for a long time, after all, your superior's job is on the line, not to mention her life. So why don't you run along and do as I asked."  
  
Keith stood and walked out of the strip joint and Jay laughed. That was the third one tonight. He'd wait for two more before he'd leave. Just to make sure his 'babysitter' was a nice shade of red before he made his appearance.  
  
  
Kieran walked up the block to the Hyperion and noted the strange car parked in front of it. Wrinkling her eyebrow, she wondered who was meeting Angel Company so late. Hurrying, she made her way into the Hotel.  
  
  
Austin stood in the room of his childhood home. People like Quentin Travers sickened him. Granted, he did not know JP too well, after all he had limited contact with him. But it was hard not to be drawn to him. Apparently Kieran was quite drawn to him, and they were best of friends.  
  
It was good for Kieran, he supposed. She was only sixteen, and even though she was just a slayer in waiting, she was expected to have full slayer abilities. He couldn't wait until her 18th birthday passed. She'd be freed from this cursed existence.  
  
He sighed; it looked as if he would be going to Germany after all. He heard from one of Traver's underlings who actually had compassion that someone in Hamburg could help him.  
  
  
Captain Christopher Bruso stood at attention behind his commander, in front of him stood three special forces lieutenants. Currently the three of them were being given orders on what to do. And currently he, Captain Christopher Bruso, was idly wondering why he was here. He wanted to get home to his family and his two kids. Today was his little boy's fifth birthday, and he wanted to get home to celebrate it.  
  
Suddenly he heard, "Attention," and automatically he stood straighter and correctly as his commander filed out, followed by the three operatives. Then, silently, he took his leave. It was time to go home and see his family.  
  
  
"Chase," Oz spoke, "Is it short for something?" he asked.  
  
She shrugged, "Chastity. My mother had a twisted sense of humor."  
  
Taking a sip of his water, Oz looked up. "I dunno. It fits in some karmic way."  
  
She snorted indignantly, "You don't actually believe in that stuff, do you?"  
  
"You'd be surprised at some of the stuff I believe in," Oz told her.  
  
"Fair enough," Chase finished her beer. "My place or yours?" she asked.  
  
"Yours," Oz said, slipping a five-dollar bill and a few quarters down on the table. "It's on me," he told her before she even could protest. Chase simply nodded. She hadn't known that men could still be gentlemen in this day and age.  
  
  
Kieran's jaw dropped when she walked into the Hyperion's lobby. There were five strangers in here. Three stood together, blonde woman and a bleached blonde male, along with an older guy who looked like he could be either one of the stranger's fathers. And then there was Angel; the other two who Kieran didn't know stood behind them.  
  
"Look poufter, I just want Dawn and get out of here," the bleached blonde told Angel firmly.  
  
Kieran didn't know what 'poufter' meant, but it didn't seem very nice. Angel just ignored the jibe and sighed. "I didn't invite her here. And it's her choice to leave or not."  
  
It was Kieran's time to step in. "Could someone please explain to me what's going on? Who are these people?" she asked Angel.  
  
He sighed, "Kieran, meet Giles, Tara, Spike," he introduced the three that stood together, "Dawn, and Mercedes," then he indicated the two teens around Kieran's age. "Everyone, this is Kieran, the slayer in residence."  
  
"Slayer?" Giles was the first to react. "What about Faith?"  
  
Kieran nodded, "Faith is alive and well, as far as I know. But I'm senior potential, so I fill in for the slayer while she sits in the slammer. I have two years left before she dies or I am free." She shrugged; she was used to her duty.  
  
"Oh," was all they could say.  
  
  
When Jay swaggered into the pent house he was currently staying at, he was met by a very red faced Lilah Morgan, his 'baby-sitter'. "Where have you been young man?" she ground out.  
  
He shrugged, "Doesn't matter."  
  
She put on a coy smile, "Oh but I think it does."  
  
"Don't play me Lilah," Jay snapped, turning towards her. "We both know who has the power here. Who has the upper hand, and I'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count."  
  
Lilah ignored her charge. "You have a lot to do tomorrow. You should have been in by curfew." She ignored the snort from Jay. "School, tennis team, homework, oh yes, of course, we can't forget the community service."  
  
"Fencing actually," Jay kept his voice light as he wandered into the kitchen and pulled out a carton of milk, and began to drink straight from it. He knew it drove the lawyer bitch from hell crazy.  
  
"Excuse me?" Lilah looked down at him, trying to ignore his outright disrespect about other people and the need to be sanitary.  
  
"Its fencing, not tennis. The feel of a foil is, I don't know. So comforting to some," he flashed her a smile.  
  
"And all the better to carve my heart out with I suppose?" Lilah asked, following him into his room. She was interested as to see how this turned out.  
  
"It'd be a bit hard you know. With you being a heartless bitch and all," Jay shrugged as he pulled his shirt off.  
  
"Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? Maybe someone should was your mouth out with soap," Lilah snapped. This…boy…was getting the better of her.  
  
"And maybe I would have an allergic reaction. And of course that would be your fault. Ooh, that would be fun." Jay smirked. "But let us not forget about your schedule. Get me up, get me to school, try and corrupt the world, pick me up from _fencing_, corrupt the world some more, make dinner. Wow, you're just a regular Suzy homemaker."   
  
Lilah grit her teeth. "Why I ought to…"  
  
"Ought to what?" he asked calmly. "Hurt one hair on my head and it's your job, your life. Now do you mind? I'm trying to change. After all I have busy schedule tomorrow," throwing her another smirk; Jay closed the door in Lilah's face.  
  


* * *

  
Author's Note:   
  
Ack! I'm sorry, block hit me over the head and dragged me into a closet...err, yeah. Real life got in the way, mainly finals and homework. Then Jen didn't wanna beta (cause she has a lot to do) and then plot bunnies attacked. geen I finally got them controlled and then they attack me, making me write a new story (Tis called Hunters: The Risen and please read, it's good, Jen loves it....okay, it's winning her over) which is a Harry Potter/Buffy/Angel crossover. Mainly it's another Dawn and Connor go to Hogwarts, but guess what, it has Spike and Oz in it (and Spike isn't related to Malfoy!) so please take a look at it before I go into a corner and cry. Also I started a couple of sites, e, and take up a challenge. Oh, and review, please?  



	10. Dreaming of Tomorrow

Disclaimer: I don't own, if I did, I would have lots and lots of money with working computers and Connor would not be a malnourished prairie dog with monkey pox.

Faith sat outside, breathing in the stale Californian air. It wasn't exactly fresh, but it was better than sitting in a cell all day, so she didn't complain. She didn't complain period, never did, and probably never would. It was a test of her will, just like staying in prison was. Oh, she could break out any time she wanted. Knock a few of the prison guards out and she would be a free woman. But no, she had to stay, she had strong resolve, and she would keep it that way.   
  


"Hey, Faith," a guard came up; it was Freddie, the one who actually treated the female inmates with respect. He was well liked by all of the prisoners; sometimes he would deliver mail or send mail out for them. Faith wished she had something to send out, but whom would she send it to? Buffy? She heard B was dead. Angel sometimes sent a post card or something, but he was never one for writing.   
  


"Freddie," Faith looked up, acknowledging him.   
  


"Your lawyer's here. Wants to talk to you," he reported.   
  


Faith blinked. Lawyer? The state appointed one of course, but the guy didn't even care, he had other clients, paying clients, to pay much attention to her. Besides, she had pled guilty. Other than that, the only lawyers who had ever visited her were the Wolfram Hart cronies. She had told them that the next time she saw the two leeches; well things wouldn't be pretty.   
  


"Here you go Faith," Freddie said as he showed her to Counsel Room 1A. She flashed him a genuine smile as she walked in.   
  


Faith surveyed the room and stopped when she caught sight of the person sitting at the table. "You," she hissed. "I thought I told you I wouldn't have any part of your schemes."   
  


Lindsey McDonald looked up at the dark haired Slayer. "No scheme," he said honestly.   
  


She looked at him for a moment before sitting down. "Talk to me."   
  
  


"Now 'Bit," Spike turned his attention away from the freckled girl and to the girl who was under his care. "Why'd you run off without so much as a note?"   
 

Dawn flushed, "Oops?" 

"And you!" Spike turned and faced Mercedes, "Running about California with an innocent girl!"   
  


Dark gray eyes narrowed, "I didn't ask her to come," seethed Mercedes.   
  


At the same time, Dawn cried, "I'm not innocent!" Everyone gave her a sideways glance. "Okay, maybe I am," she admitted. But you didn't have to announce it to the entire world!"   
  


"This is all very silly you know," Kieran remarked as she walked towards the little group.  "It was very stupid of you to leave home without a note. Next time do so," she said to Dawn. She then turned to Spike; "She's a teenage girl. We think irrationally. Deal."   
  


She stepped back and watched them.   
  


"When did you get so smart?" Angel asked.   
  


Kieran shrugged, "I dunno, it could possibly between Oklahoma and LA, or Vegas. I dunno." She turned to Giles. "You're a Watcher, right?" she asked.   
  


He nodded as he took off his glasses and cleaned them, "Yes, yes I am. How did you know?"   
  


She grinned. "I dunno you have the air of tweed wearing and sexual frustration. Did they teach that at the Watcher School of yours?"   
  


Giles looked at the grinning teenage girl. "It's the Academy. And what did they teach us?" he asked. This girl was remind him very much of Buffy when he first met her. He then felt a pang for his dead slayer, but he wouldn't dwell on that, Buffy wouldn't want him to.   
  


"Cleaning your glasses and wearing tweed and general sexual frustration. Or is that just the British?" Kieran cocked her head slightly to the side in question.   
  


"First of all, I'm English. And second of all, that is not true," he stood there for a moment. "Where is your watcher?"   
  


She chuckled. "Who, Johnny Boy? I got rid of him."   
  


Giles furrowed his brow. There was only one watcher who could go by John when he was there. Giles remembered him as an uptight fellow, extremely traditional with his teachings and training. Somehow he thought that the pair weren't exactly compatible. "You don't mean Jonathan Olmstead, do you?"   
  


She nodded, "Yup. Old Johnny Boy thought it was best to drag me away from home, not that I didn't mind that, but he was just an old stiff you know? He had this air about him, lots of sexual frustration; it was like he had taken a vow of celibacy. You guys actually haven't taken one, have you?"   
  


Giles looked at her. Now he really felt like he was back with Buffy in her high school days. "No I haven't." 

"Oh, okay. Cool. Wanna train?" Kieran asked.   
  


Giles was taken aback by the bluntness of the teenage girl. "Lead the way."   
  
  


Esther yawned as she went throughout her regular nightly rituals. She finished by changing into a pair of white star on blue background pajamas. Her hair hung loose about her shoulders as she crawled into bed. Esther clicked the final light out before she found a comfortable spot and slipped off into walk into subconscious.   
  


Esther walked into the Hyperion Hotel, the fact that her thesis was due in December weighed heavily on her mind, and it was June already. Damn she needed to get working on that.   
  


"Esther!" Cordelia spotted her. "Come on! It's your day! First, second, and last! Well we don't want to keep everyone waiting. I mean your family has flown in, as has Wesley's. Don't want to keep them waiting, do we?" the former cheerleader didn't even let her answer before she pulled the very confused woman up the stairs.   
  


"My family's here?" Esther paled. It was not like she hated her family, but they didn't exactly approve of what she was doing. Meaning they didn't like her starting a family as soon as she graduated college. They thought she was corrupting her younger sister, as if her younger sister needed corrupting. Then she caught sight of it. The chuppa, why was it there?   
  


"Of course! You aren't getting cold feet are you?" Cordelia looked at Esther. "First, second, last, and it will be done."   
  


Esther looked back. "What will be done?" she was close to stomping her foot, but Cordelia didn't even give her a chance to do that, she was already pulling the older woman along and up the stairs.   
  


"You're getting cold feet. Don't. Everything is set up. Now let's go. Tara wanted to do any last minute touches that needed to be done before your make-up." Cordelia pulled Esther into a side room where clusters of girls congregated. There were the people she met in LA as well as her sister and her cousins.   
  


"You're late!" her younger sister remarked, smirking. "Jewish standard time has struck again." Esther shot the teen a dirty look as she rushed past.   
  


"Angel went to pick up the flowers and that wine Mani-what-sit. He'll be back in the next twenty minutes or so. He better be anyway. Lindsey and Jay are covering the cake. Did you know they had it charged to Wolfram and Hart's account and by the top bakery in the city as well? Actually all the food was," Cordelia told her all of this as Esther stepped into her dress. Faith was already zipping up Cordelia. Tara was on her knees, touching up Esther's hem.   
  


"Is it all Kosher?" Dawn asked, worried that someone would walk out on this special event. That's all Esther needed.   
  


"Yes," Kieran said from the other side of the room. "I was there when they placed the order."   
  


"So does that mean I'll be getting my sausage pizza somewhere else?" Esther's sister called out. Everyone ignored her.   
  


"So Cheerleader, how is the little bun in the oven doing?' Faith asked.   
  


Cordelia glared at her flat stomach. "This little miracle has Angel out at dawn finding a deli that would make a Bologna sandwich with whole wheat bread and Mayo with pickles. And I had to filch a few strawberries from the kitchen. Then two hours ago I saw it all again. The bun in the oven is more like a pain in the ass."   
  


"Breathe Cordy," Tara laughed from her position on the floor.   
  


Everything was a blur after that, until she was downstairs, in a very fairy tale dress, and Esther found herself shaking and nervous. Why, she didn't know. Her brothers Ethan and Elijah were holding two corners of the canopy while Gunn and Angel held the other two. Again everything seem to speed up until she found herself saying, "First, second, last and it will be done." Wesley repeated the same two lines and they kissed. Esther was tickled to find that he was a very nice kisser, at least in her dreams he was.   
  
  


Esther woke up with a start. "Oh dear," she muttered into the darkness, disrupting her napping cat.   
  
  


Faith looked at Lindsey, "So what's the news?" she asked.   
  


He sighed and sat across from her. "It's going to be hard. Parole is your best bet, but the DA's office might shoot it down. The appeals court wouldn't work because you pled guilty."   
  


"Parole board huh?" Faith sat back and looked at Lindsey McDonald, her lawyer. "I heard they're tough. Especially depending on the crime you did."   
  


Lindsey nodded; he had heard as much from when he had been a practicing lawyer in LA. "Well then, we ought to figure out what to say to them, won't we?"   
  
  


The morning dawned gray and blustery as the newscaster on the television cheerfully that there would be thunderstorms in the afternoon. Esther sighed as she collected her things for the day. It looked as if she would be bringing the umbrella along today.   
  


As she walked into the office, she found it extremely normal. And there was no Cordelia bustling towards her. Esther sighed in relief, although she did look around to double check that there was no white canopy.   
  


"Ah, Esther," Wesley said as he walked out of the office. For the first time Esther noticed how his glasses sat on his nose at an angle and how some strands of hair stuck up comically. She also noticed how kissable his lips looked. She blinked, making the thought disappear as fast as it had come.   
  


"Hello Wesley," Esther smiled as she mentally told her quivering heart to be still.   
  


"Are you ready to get to work?" Wesley asked.   
  


She nodded. Work was good; it would keep her mind off of more confusing things. Like Wesley. Not that Wesley was bad or anything; she was just confused about him. And it was all do to that stupid dream from the night before. What with her kissing him and all. But it had been a very nice dream once you looked back on it. There were people there she liked, and she was in that fairy tale dress she always wanted. "Be still my quaking heart," she murmured to herself.   
  


"Excuse me, did you say something?" Wesley asked, looking up from the printed copy of the translation.   
  


"Erm, nothing," Esther said, sitting opposite from him. "Lovely weather we're having."   
  


"Oh yes, lovely," Wesley agreed as the sound of rain hitting the window added to the background noise, "if you like rainy days."   
  


"Oh, of course. You're right," Esther said, a faint blush touching her cheeks. Who was she kidding, she didn't know what she was going, and she was acting like an idiot.   
  


"Esther," Wesley started, startling her slightly. "Is everything okay?"   
  


"Yes, of course, why wouldn't it be?" Esther answered hastily. He raised an eyebrow, making Esther re-evaluate her decision to tell him about her dream. Right now it seemed sort of important. Maybe she would just leave a few details out. He really didn't need to know about the whole kissing part. "Well, last night, I had a dream…"

Author's Note: Sorry for not updating, but I updated on the day I wanted to. Yay for me! But there's bad news, first my computer has something that's corrupted, so it's not booting correctly. There is good news though, since I'm going to be away at camp (and writing the whole time) you won't miss me too much. Which brings me to my next point, for the next three weeks or so I will not be online at all. The horror. So no updates from me, unless my father can figure away for me to have wireless internet in the next 24 hours. I may be able to check my mail once or twice, but that's it. So send in those reviews and make me happy, please?

Oh and Imazdi, if you don't like this chapter, I'll scream. If you don't review, well I'll kick your butt to Timbucktu. *smiles* Thanks!


	11. Ice Cream

Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue. I don't own this, and neither do you. 

Wesley sat in his apartment, a bottle of whiskey in front of him. Esther had been acting odd the whole day. Then she had told him about the dream. The details weren't all there, she was holding something back, he was sure of it. But it was odd; Esther never had prophetic dreams before. At least ones she had admitted to, but she told him that she always had a bit of intuition.

Taking a gulp of the whiskey he mentally told himself he shouldn't be doing this. Working with a hangover was always a pain and he wasn't really setting a very good example. For whom, he did not know. Wesley was alone in his apartment; he took a swig from the whiskey bottle. There, that was better.

By the time he stumbled into his room, Wesley had finished the whiskey and was a bit more unstable than he should have been. Flopping down on the bed, Wesley kicked off his shoes and threw off his glasses before rolling over to pass out. 

"Wesley!" Kieran walked into the room, a little boy clinging onto her neck. "This is yours. I'm not a coat rack, and expect to get paid for babysitting. Here you go!" she unloaded the little boy into Wesley's arms and walked away. "Now to go fix the axe before Connor finds out," she muttered to herself.

The British man looked at the little boy in his arms.

"Daddy," the boy grinned at him.

"Err…Yes?" Wesley stammered. He was about to tell the child he had no clue what he was talking about, but Wesley didn't want to traumatize the poor thing. The kid could be in therapy for years just because Wesley said he wasn't the child's father.

"Hey Daddy, you know how you to told me to never use magic to invoke the wrath of Kav-ash" Noah asked, grinning charmingly up at his father, an innocent expression in his brown eyes.

"Yes," Wesley replied slowly, Kav-ash demons were not to be messed with.

Noah looked around for a moment and then shrugged.  "Never mind," he said. He was quiet for a moment before asking, "Do you think a cactus gets lonely?" Before Wesley had a chance to reply, he asked another question and then another. Finally he asked, "Where do babies come from?" the child cocked his head to the side, giving the startled Brit, a wide and toothy grin.

"Noah, you aren't bothering your father with your questions are you?" Esther walked into the room, a little girl of about 18 months, in her arms. Esther was pregnant. It was all Wesley could do from not dropping the child in his arms and run out of there. 

"No, he was a perfect little angel," Wesley said haltingly. _A perfect little Angelus is more like it, _he thought to himself. Esther gave Wesley a dazzling smile before motioning for Noah to follow her. Slowly leaning down, Wesley let the little boy go. 

"Come on Noah," She grabbed his hand, "We should let Daddy get back to work."

Wesley watched them go. _Yes, you should let Daddy get back to work,_ he thought to himself as he walked back into his office.

Wesley rolled over and opened his eyes. "Blasted thing," Wesley said, talking about the beeping clock, as he sat up. "Who set it so early?" he thought about his last statement before shutting off the alarm and stumbling towards the bathroom. 

He needed a shower. And time to think. Funny how those two things always seemed to coincide.

Kieran walked through the park, a chocolate ice cream cone in her hand. For the first time in her life, she actually liked summer. In Oklahoma, or at least where she lived in Oklahoma, summer always meant dusty dirt. It would get everywhere, on your clothes, in your hair, in your teeth. There was no escaping it. But in LA, everything was neat and manicured, at least in the park.

Taking a lick of her ice cream, she grinned. Ice cream rocked her world to no end, and it was chocolate ice cream, making it even better. Sitting on one of the swings, Kieran gently swung back and forth as she licked her ice cream, enjoying the sun.

"Come here often?" Jay's voice interrupted Kieran's mental romp through the clouds.

Her eyes flickered over to his smiling face. "Maybe," she answered loftily as she smiled back at him. Jay just did something to her. It made her insides feel all goopy. When she thought about him she got a goofy look on her face, making her look a lot like Angel when he smiled. She hated loving every moment of it.

"I would offer you ice cream, but I see you already got your own," Jay noted.

Kieran smiled happily, "Yup, but I'll take a rain check."

"Is chocolate your favorite flavor?" Jay asked causally.

Kieran shrugged, still swinging back and forth. "Not really, I was just in a chocolate mood today."

Jay blinked, slightly confused. "You can have moods for ice cream?" he asked.

Kieran nodded happily. "Of course. Chocolate is the universal pick me up, although it's just good in general. Strawberry is if you're in a somewhat innocent mood. Chocolate and strawberry together is usually considered sexy. Peanut butter is if you're feeling childish. Vanilla is if your feeling bored. I don't like vanilla all that much."

"I must be boring then," Jay remarked dryly, as he looked down to see the vanilla cone in his hand.

Kieran looked at him. "This is coming from someone in a white jumpsuit," she remarked. "Why are you dressed like that? I know some guys have horrible fashion sense, but you seemed almost normal when we first met."

"Only almost?" Jay inquired, laughing. "This isn't what I usually where, I just have fencing over near the basketball courts. I saw you and thought I would pop over to say hello."

"Only to say hello?" she imitated Jay, earning another laugh.

"We discussed ice cream," he offered as he stood. "But now I must go. Until next time milady," he bowed with a flourish before lifting her hand and kissing it.

"You're a dork," Kieran said while laughing, but she didn't mean it.

He just grinned before walking off, leaving Kieran to her thoughts once more.

JP sat in his room, looking into space. He blinked, as if trying to clear something from his vision, but nothing worked. Slowly his eyes began to cloud over until they were white, and he saw nothing but his vision.

They were coming.

Mercedes didn't really mind Angel's son all that much. Although he did have that resemblance to a prairie dog, he wasn't half bad. At least he wasn't when he kept his mouth shut. Unfortunately, that rarely happened. So maybe the prairie dog was all bad.

But that didn't phase her one bit. Dawn was still in LA, she had convince the little entourage that included one Watcher, one witch, and one vampire that a change of scenery would be good for her. Since nothing was happening in Sunnydale, they decided to let her make a vacation of it.

Spike had protested of course, but after he was voted down, he just kept to himself and sulked for a couple hours. Sometimes Mercedes would hear him muttering to himself about peaches, lifts, poofs, and some other nonsense.  Mercedes chose not to listen as she passed him in the hall.

"You always did enjoy the parks," Lindsey said softly as he crept up behind his little sister.

She spun around, tossing her almost finished ice cream cone towards him. He avoided it by stepping out of the way.

"Now that wasn't very nice," he remarked smoothly as he sat down on a swing next to hers.

She rolled her eyes as she sat back down on her own swing. "You're not very nice. You now owe me a chocolate strawberry double," Kieran pouted slightly as she watched her chocolate ice cream melt into the ground.

Lindsey looked at his little sister. Chocolate and strawberry? He knew about her little classifications about ice cream. So who was her latest crush? "You're not crushing on Angel are you?" he asked slowly.

She gave him a crossed out look. "Can you say eww? He's like my what, fifteen times my age. Can you say jail bait?"

Lindsey shrugged, "He had a relationship with a slayer when she was only fifteen. I believe they slept together on her sixteenth birthday."

"Actually it was the seventeenth," she informed him before a grossed out look crossed her face. "Eww. Can we get off this subject now? It's almost as bad as seeing Connor in all of his prairie dog nakedness." She squeezed her eyes shut tightly. "I just went to that scary visual place."

Lindsey looked up alarmed once he remembered whom exactly Connor was. "You've seen Angel's offspring naked?" his voice nearly squeaked in annoyance. 

Kieran sighed. "He was singing, loudly. It was Britney Spears. If I'm going deaf I'm not doing it by listening to her with him singing. He needs to know the meaning of singing on key, locking the door, and clothes. Besides Jay is much better to look at."

"Jay is?" Lindsey asked.

"None of your business," Kieran said, "Now why are you in LA?"

Lindsey stood, "Now that is none of your business," he countered. "Don't tell anyone I'm here," he started walking away, past the line of trees where his car was parked.

Kieran watched him go. "Whom am I going to tell?" she asked herself softly. "Who am I going to call, Ghostbusters? I don't think they've opened the LA branch yet." Standing, she made her way to the basketball courts. She wanted to see Jay again.

"You have an hour," General Harding reported to the three special operatives. They all saluted like the soldiers they were. "There are civilians in there. Try to ignore them, but if they get in your way, you have orders to subdued them."

The one in the middle, tall and brown haired looked at him. "Which options do we have to subdued them sir?"

General Harding looked at him, "Anything you feel is necessary. You three are special operatives, I trust your judgment."

"What are we looking for exactly?" the one at the end, shorter than the one in the middle, he had sandier hair.

"Three escaped hostiles. We want them alive, and we want all three of them together. Do not seriously harm them. The three of them are very valuable," the General told them what they needed to know.

"Is there any priority between the three?" the last operative asked. He was black and bald.

General Harding nodded, "The seer, the only male. The blonde girl is next. Her blood is powerful. The dark haired girl is needed for tests, but the two others are vital to this project. Do you understand? They are to be harmed as little as possible. It is your career if any of them end up dead. If you encounter any demons or half breeds you may neutralize them anyway you see fit."

"Yes sir," the three of them barked at the same time, as they saluted.

General Harding nodded each of them individually before walking out. Leaving the three of them to decide on the best course of action.

Angel looked that the group that was assembled in the lobby of the Hyperion Hotel. Oz was gone, again, probably off on what JP called slunky fun time. Tara and Spike were gone too, most likely together. Lorne was off with a client of his own, and Esther went home to her uncle at four-thirty like she did every day. Austin was still in Europe, but now in Germany instead of England. Giles was back in Sunnydale for the time being. "So who's staying?" he asked finally.

Mercedes, Dawn, Kieran, and Connor were staying, as well as Skye and JP. Cordelia, Wesley, Fred, and Gunn were going with him to take care of a particularly nasty infestation of Oshkna demons, slug like things that had a taste for socks and light bulbs. They usually weren't hard to kill or get rid of, but with an infestation this large, it would be easier getting rid of them another way. A way that had a rather complicated procedure, which made the demons go into a gray area, an area in between dimensions. The more people to help, the better.

JP sat in corner silently, whimpering ever so often. They were coming.

Okay, much with the sorries about not updating. I had this finished last Friday, but Jen didn't get to it until Sunday night. Then I was lazy. But in other news, please thank Jen, because this story would not be as good with out her. And that's bad, very bad. So thanks for reading and please review (if I get 8 more, I'll have 100…*hint**hint*. Oh and a plug for myself, please read some of my other stories. 


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